Andrew Buller-Russ
During the 2021 NFL Draft, the New York Jets selected quarterback Zach Wilson second overall, with the hopes that he could quickly become the face of the franchise. Robert Saleh, who was in his first year as a head coach, saw his new QB start 13 games, going 3-10 as a rookie.
In the offseason, we saw the Jets do more to improve the offense around their young quarterback, with the idea of Wilson taking a big step forward in his second year of the NFL.
Early on, the additions of Breece Hall to the backfield and Garrett Wilson to the receiver corps appeared to be the perfect complimentary pieces to help Wilson thrive, as the Jets won their first four starts with their second-year QB under center this season.
Then a matchup against Bill Belichick’s Patriots came, and Wilson fell off the wagon, completing just 48% of his passes while throwing three interceptions in a loss. It was just two weeks later that Wilson would have to face New England again, and it went horribly. Wilson completed just 40% of his passes, totaling 77 yards, and he didn’t feel he was to blame for the team scoring a season-low three points.
As expected, the team decided to go back to Mike White, who had provided a spark in Week 8 of last season with a 405-yard effort in a win over Cincinnati. Once again, the lineup change proved wise, as White led the Jets to victory in his first start of the season, earning him the starting gig for at least a few more weeks.
Unfortunately, injuries hit after White suffered a brutal hit to his midsection, causing the QB to be hospitalized, and he has now been ruled out with a rib injury, catapulting Wilson back into the starting lineup. But how does coach Saleh feel about having to go back to Wilson, who was once viewed as the team’s potential savior?
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Robert Saleh expects hiccups from Zach Wilson vs Detroit
It’s no secret that Wilson has struggled through the first 20 starts of his NFL career. The former BYU star has completed just 55.6% of his passes and has thrown more interceptions (16) than touchdowns (13).
But to his credit, he seems to be coming to terms with the fact that he must drastically improve to meet the expectations of being a top-five pick. Wilson has been working on improving his mechanics, but still, his own coach doesn’t expect the best out of the 23-year-old signal-caller against Detroit.
“Zach had a good week of practice. His mechanics are much better, but I do expect a few things to crop up today. I told him don’t overthink it, just go out and play. Just. Be. You.”
New York Jets coach Robert Saleh on expectations for Zach Wilson
We don’t typically get this type of honesty out of NFL head coaches, but it just goes to show the lack of confidence Saleh, and the Jets have in Wilson at this stage of his career.
Wilson is still just 23, and it’s true that the Jets have supplied him with a much better skill position group, but we just haven’t seen improvement yet. Perhaps that changes against Detroit, who allows the second-most points per game in the NFL. If not, we can’t say coach Saleh didn’t see it coming.
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