Let Zach Wilson Go
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The title doesn’t mean what you think it means. I’ll discuss shortly what I’m getting at. Now, I know it’s easy as spectators for us to sit here and play armchair GM or coach. We’re not the ones making the decisions and working with these players. However, there are some sports fans that still see certain things, and then there’s people such as myself, who has studied scouting, so not every individual is a casual fan.
I’m saying this to say I have suggestion for (Jets head coach) Robert Saleh and his staff if they want to see Zach Wilson progress this year: let him go. What I mean by that is let him play his game, don’t try to box him in and make him quarterback the game a certain way. I mean, you don’t want him to get out of control, but don’t try to make him something he’s not.
Last year, as a rookie, it was understandable that they wanted to slow things down a bit and make learning the game and getting acclimated to the speed of the NFL as easy as possible for him. As a result, he had an up-and-down year. There were a lot of growing pains, as you would expect from rookies, however, he did show flashes of what they saw when they drafted him.
Now with a year under his belt, if there’s any restrictions, I say remove them and let’s see what he’s made of. I think this is part of what has made quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady so successful. For instance, Andy Reid, for the most part, lets Mahomes play his game. He doesn’t try to restrict him into quarterbacking the game a certain way. Tom Brady is a classic drop back passer; if you tried to make him a dual-threat guy, you’re going to be in for a long day.
I look at Zach in that same light. In other words, his game is unique, and I think trying to box him into being a certain type of quarterback would be a mistake. I understand every quarterback is different, and some are better suited playing in a more restricted, structured system (e.g., game managers), but I don’t think that’s Zach Wilson.
Another thing that I think will be a big help is that he doesn’t have as many people in his ear, as one article mentioned. Sometimes, less is more, and perhaps too many voices might have caused some confusion. One person is saying to do this, another person is saying to do that, and so on, and that could drag a person every which way, and possibly have them all over the place.
It’s funny because the New York Post asked the question, “What it Would Take to Count Zach Wilson’s Year 2 as a Success?” Well, there are a few factors, but for starters, let him go and let him play his game.
