With just three days to go before the start of the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos made a move by trading with the New York Jets for quarterback Zach Wilson.
Wilson was the No. 2 pick in the draft just three years ago, but he greatly failed to pan out, which was one reason the Jets went out and got Aaron Rodgers last offseason.
Former NFL QB and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky says New York “failed” Wilson because they made him start immediately despite some mechanical flaws, via NFL on ESPN.
“This is the Jets fault. They failed Zach Wilson.” 👀
—@danorlovsky7 pic.twitter.com/zuzG2q2cDV
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 22, 2024
In college at Brigham Young University, Wilson threw for 3,692 yards and 33 touchdowns while completing 73.5 percent of his pass attempts and adding 10 touchdowns on the ground as a junior.
But in the pros, he has fallen well short of that excellent level of production.
In three years with New York, his completion percentage has been a super-meager 57.0 percent, and he has thrown more interceptions (25) than touchdown passes (23).
Last season, he was forced to take to helm of their offense again after Rodgers tore his Achilles during their first offensive series of the year, and it was a reminder that he simply isn’t a starting-caliber signal-caller.
The hope is that a new set of surroundings and possibly playing in a much smaller market that has much lower expectations will help Wilson’s development.
After pulling the plug on the Russell Wilson experiment, the Broncos are expected by virtually no one to compete for a playoff spot, so perhaps the pressure will be off Wilson to become solid moving forward.
