Zach Wilson was Broncos most shocking development at QB in preseason win

Week 1 of the NFL preseason is officially in the books for the Denver Broncos, and one particular quarterback proved his worth (at least momentarily).

The Broncos faced off against the Indianapolis Colts, and all three quarterbacks played. Jarrett Stidham was named the starter and barely played. Stidham then gave way to Bo Nix, who played very well and stole the show (and likely the starter position).

Last to play was Zach Wilson, whom most people have written off, but he more than held his own in the game against the Colts. While you can't discount Stidham, who had limited reps and looked good outside of an interception that wasn't his fault, I believe the performance rankings should be Nix starting, Wilson at the two, and Stidham at the three. 

The game's outcome favored the Broncos, who outscored the Colts 34-30. Those 34 points are the second most scored in a preseason game from 2017. While Wilson didn’t directly score any of those 34 points, he maneuvered the offense to score twice and avoided making costly turnovers, which has plagued him in his young career so far. 

Overall, his stat line doesn’t jump out at you, other than being an incredibly efficient 10/13 for 117 yards with no touchdowns but no turnovers. You can say, “It wasn’t against starters, and it’s only preseason.” But for a guy who might and likely is playing for a number two spot or even to get on another team, he played just as you would want him to. He didn't make mistakes, executed the offense as he was supposed to, and was on schedule with his throws while not getting sacked.

While he only threw for 117 yards, some good defensive plays prevented gains throughout the game. Am I saying that Wilson should be the starter? Absolutely not. Nix was drafted to be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. That being said, when I said back in April that the Broncos should trade for Wilson (which they ended up doing), I felt like Sean Payton wouldn't trade for a guy he didn't have a vision for.

As we prepare for week two preseason action, the Broncos will take on the Packers on August 18th; Nix will draw the start, as Payton has already advised. Will we see extended action again from Wilson? That's a good question, one I feel has already been answered by how Payton has talked about Wilson from when the trade happened to now. He wants to work with Wilson, and of the three quarterbacks, he has the most talent, as evidenced by his draft status. At best, Wilson is a high-upside backup, and at worst, he bounces to another team.

I might be in the minority of NFL fans, but I want Wilson to succeed. I don't think he got a fair shake in New York as that's a notoriously challenging place to grow and mature for a young quarterback, The Broncos might keep all three quarterbacks but if they don't (even after just one preseason game) I feel the Broncos would be better off keeping Wilson and cutting Stidham and saving a little money.

Stay tuned Broncos Country, the quarterbacks are slinging it.