Zach Wilson, a former quarterback for BYU, was moved.
As per a source, the New York Jets dealt Denver the former No. 2 overall pick on Monday.
Three years ago, coaches, executives, and scouts from the New York Jets traveled to Utah to witness Zach Wilson light up the field during BYU’s pro day. Mike LaFleur, the offensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, the head coach, and general manager Joe Douglas were present. Some within the organization felt it was an easy choice to select him with the second overall pick because they believed they had discovered the future face of the Jets team.
After three years, the Jets were forced to pay a different team to get rid of Wilson. Prior to the NFL Draft, the Jets traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos. On Monday, a league source stated that Wilson and a seventh-round pick (No. 256) were exchanged for a sixth-round pick (No. 203).
Though the Jets organization made other missteps along the way that severely harmed Wilson’s growth, it formally ends the tragic tale of one of the worst starts to a career for any highly-drafted quarterback. That began with the choice to assign him the starting quarterback position as a rookie without even providing the appearance of competition. After Aaron Rodgers suffered an Achilles tear in Week 1 of the previous season, no genuine competition was added.
The Jets didn’t receive much interest in Wilson during the busy summer for quarterbacks, which is why it took so long to trade him and why the return was so little. Other 2021 Wilson draft classmates, Justin Fields and Mac Jones, were traded to the Steelers and the Jaguars, respectively, for conditional sixth-round selections earlier in the summer. The only quarterback selected in the first round of that draft class who is still with his original team is Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars.
Wilson undoubtedly contributed to some of his own difficulties, but the organization has earned criticism for its inadequate preparation and judgment in Wilson’s vicinity. When Rodgers was acquired by Douglas last season, they were granted a respite in the hopes that Wilson would be able to observe one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL for a full season. Rather, he was starting by Week 2 — and as the season went on and Rodgers spent a significant portion of the year recovering from his injury in California, the relationship between Wilson and Rodgers deteriorated.
Wilson had 34 interceptions and 28 touchdowns in three seasons. In 34 games, he only threw for 300 yards or more three times, and he only completed 57% of his throws. Eleven times, he passed for 150 yards or less, and eight times, for 250 yards or more. Only seven times did he throw two or more touchdowns in a game; he never threw three touchdown passes in a game. Eighteen times, he threw zero touchdowns. In no season did he throw ten touchdown passes. In terms of EPA per dropback across his first three seasons as a quarterback in the previous ten years, Wilson is ranked 47th out of 52 qualifying quarterbacks by TruMedia.
Wilson gave no indication that, even in a supportive atmosphere, he would have been a good starting quarterback. It wasn’t all horrible, and it wasn’t all his fault.
The first error occurred that first season when the Jets not only failed to bring in veteran quarterback competition for Wilson during training camp (instead, James Morgan and Mike White, two unknown quarterbacks), but Saleh also disputed the notion that the Jets really needed a quarterback. The Jets subsequently traded for Joe Flacco after Wilson had a difficult start to his rookie season, but the damage had already been done. Since then, the Jets have acknowledged that giving Wilson the starting position outright was a mistake.
LaFleur had already begun to lose interest in Wilson as 2022 approached, and he was quite vocal about it during that summer. That season, their relationship fell apart as Wilson failed to understand the strategy and was unsatisfied with LaFleur’s direct and honest approach. LaFleur’s resentment only intensified as Flacco and White outperformed Wilson in his offensive scheme. In a game with playoff implications in the late season, Wilson was benched once for White and once more for practice squad quarterback Chris Streveler. Wilson’s tenure with the Jets seemed to be coming to an end at that point, especially since the team had publicly expressed how important it was to find Wilson’s replacement in the 2023 offseason.
In order to help Wilson regain his confidence and value, the Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers with the intention of letting him sit and learn from him for a year or two. The Jets entered the season with Wilson as their number two quarterback with the hopes that he wouldn’t have to play much, if at all, as they didn’t want to commit a lot of money to three quarterbacks.
The Broncos made this move; why?
The Broncos had the most seasoned quarterback room in the NFL going into the draft out of all the teams. Russell Wilson was cut in March, leaving Jarrett Stidham (four career starts) and Ben DiNucci (one) on the roster. Wilson doesn’t provide Denver with an answer at the position; in his three seasons with New York, he was 12-21 as a starter. Wilson will benefit from a change of scenery, but coach Sean Payton and his staff will try to maximize the considerable skill of the former No. 2 overall choice.
This shouldn’t disqualify the Broncos from contending for a top quarterback prospect on Thursday during the first round of the draft. Payton and general manager George Paton stated last week that they are “wide open” to considering draft options to choose a quarterback, citing “seven or eight” quarterback prospects who they think have the potential to be NFL starters.