Zach Wilson is off to a rough start with the New York Jets. Expectations were high when the former BYU standout was selected with the second overall pick in this year’s draft, and thus far, he has not delivered.
The problems began shortly after Wilson became the last first round pick to actually ink his rookie deal. From the beginning, as soon as he was permitted to take over the starting offense, Wilson struggled badly with accuracy, decision-making and just about everything else.
To put it more bluntly: Mike White and James Morgan routinely outperformed Wilson, which kind of speaks for itself.
On Saturday, during the Jets’ latest practice, Wilson hit a new low. According to Connor Hughes of The Athletic, the 22-year-old was 11-of-24 for 112 yards and two interceptions. Over the course of seven drives, he managed to put just three points on the board. Along the way, the offense was also forced to punt four times.
Afterward, Wilson was asked about his showing for the day, and he summed it up pretty succinctly: “Not great.”
“I had high expectations for myself and this offense,” he continued. “I’ve got to lead these guys. … I’m going to go back to the film room and learn what I can learn.”
For what it’s worth, head coach Robert Saleh took a more patient approach.
“This was Zach’s first time in front of the fans at MetLife, his coaches off the field — his coordinator up in the box, his quarterbacks coach on the sideline, no one to talk to,” Saleh said. “To have that first experience here and go through it all, this was priceless for him. He had some good moments and he had some rookie moments.”
Wilson’s mother going wild and crazy has stolen a lot of headlines and attention from him. But those days are done. He is the media’s focal point now, and how he plays going forward is what’s going to make news.
Will Wilson be able to live up to the New York hype? Time will tell.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
