The week of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos struck a trade for quarterback Zach Wilson, the 2nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Wilson was dumped by the Jets for the low price of a 6th-round pick, a trade the Broncos had worked on for about a month (give or take) according to head coach Sean Payton.
Although the Broncos worked for a month to trade for Wilson, it's clear that the Jets weren't interested in keeping him around. Getting only a 6th-round pick for a guy you just used the 2nd overall pick on three years ago had to have been a brutal pill to swallow, but the Jets weren't even interested in the possibility of Wilson being their quarterback of the future beyond whatever they're going to get from Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the very first game of the season last year, and Wilson was pressed into action. Pressed into action with an organization that clearly didn't want him and wasn't interested in developing him anymore.
The Jets made Wilson their starter almost immediately upon being drafted in 2021. On top of not having stability on the offensive coaching staff (along with not having good weapons), Wilson suffered multiple injuries early in his NFL career. As a rookie, he suffered a sprained PCL in late October, and in his second season, he suffered a meniscus tear in August. He returned to play nine games in his second season, but after his first two seasons, the Jets had clearly already moved on.
New York's brain trust set in motion a plan to get Aaron Rodgers in the building by hiring Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator. Hackett was hired by the Jets not long after he was fired by the Denver Broncos, and given what we know now about Hackett, do you think there was any possible chance that the Jets actually hired him to help Wilson revive his career and value?
Not a chance.
After Rodgers got hurt in 2023, the Jets were forced into playing Wilson again and he actually gave us some of his best games yet as a pro. But the talent of Wilson hasn't been properly developed in New York and the Jets have made it clear that they didn't have the best or the right pieces around him.
It was a stroke of good fortune that sent Wilson to the Denver Broncos, where he will be developing under a head coach who has consistently maximized the abilities of his quarterback. Not only that, but the Broncos have one of the best up-and-coming offensive coaches in the game in quarterbacks coach Davis Webb.
Wilson's progression with the Broncos was notable. Although we did still see some questionable decisions made in his preseason snaps, Wilson also showed clear progression in terms of reading the field, going through his progressions, and firing accurate strikes to every level of the field.
Can’t tell you how impressed with Zach Wilson I am.
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) August 28, 2024
His play looks like the #2 overall pick should…he’s got his swagger back. pic.twitter.com/pKFqJYrD4a
Denver Broncos GM George Paton believes Zach Wilson has starter traits
After the Broncos cut their roster down to 53 players recently, general manager George Paton met with the media and was asked if he believes Zach Wilson has the skillset to be a starter again in the NFL at some point.
His response was telling of the fact that the Jets gave up way too early on a skilled young player.
“No doubt. He has starter tools all over. It’s been pretty cool just watching him with really no expectations. He can just go out there and play football. He has all the traits. He has all the starting traits in the world. He’s still working through some things. You can see the good and the really good last week in the game. He can throw it as good as anyone in the league. I mentioned before, he’s smart and he’s a great kid. He has starter traits all over. I do think he will be a starter in this league.”
- Broncos GM George Paton (via team PR)
By all accounts, Wilson has done enough to potentially surpass Jarrett Stidham on the depth chart, even if Bo Nix is the undisputed QB1 of the franchise going forward. Wilson offers high upside with his arm talent and athleticism, and made clear progress in Sean Payton's offense over the course of the offseason.
The pressure to perform in the NFL as a rookie is brutal, and Wilson was thrown to the wolves with the Jets. The Jets did a horrible job of properly supporting their investment in Wilson and they gave up at the first opportunity, although when a player like Aaron Rodgers becomes available, you can't blame them.
So is it fair to say the Jets made a "mistake" by getting rid of Zach Wilson? Maybe. I think their mistake was much more in the way they supported that investment in the first place. The Jets didn't have the right infrastructure in place to properly support the pick they made back in 2021. Had the 49ers selected Wilson at the time, maybe things would have been a lot different for him. He needed a more stable organization with good offensive coaching and the luxury of patience, and the Jets didn't have any of that.
Have the Broncos been a model of winning? No, but the coaching staff in Denver now is better offensively than anything Wilson has had in the NFL, and it shows in the way he played this preseason.
And George Paton's comments lead me to believe the Jets will eventually live to regret the mistake of moving on from Wilson prematurely, as much as situation matters.