The Jets can help quarterback Zach Wilson by playing to his and the team’s strengths.
— Benched twice last season, stripped of his starting job in the offseason, quarterback Zach Wilson now has to save the New York Jets’ once-promising season from ruin. It truly is back to the future.
For months, the Jets have been talking about how much Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, has learned from Aaron Rodgers. On Tuesday, coach Robert Saleh doubled down, saying Wilson is « [light]-years ahead of where he was last year. »
So can a quarterback with an 8-14 career record, with more interceptions (19) than touchdown passes (16), get the Jets where they want to go? Rodgers’ season-ending injury to his left Achilles, suffered in Monday night’s win over the Buffalo Bills, changes the entire dynamic.
« If you ride with him, you ride the run game, play-action and play good defense, » one AFC personnel director said of Wilson. « And just let him manage and facilitate. »
Another personnel executive said, « If any team is built to handle this — to [scheme] around the quarterback position — it’s the Jets. But they have to manage him right. »
A closer look at how it might unfold:
Strong supporting cast: People forget that Wilson won five of his first six starts last season, playing the role of game manager, but his performance — and that of the entire offense — took a dramatic decline when running back Breece Hall and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker suffered season-ending injuries in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos. The Jets were 5-2 with Hall and Vera-Tucker, 2-8 without them.
Hall and Vera-Tucker are back in the lineup.
