As Their Bromance Continues To Blossom, Aaron Rodgers Is Setting Up Zach Wilson To Save His NFL Career
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Jets fans have to be thrilled about Aaron Rodgers publicly stating he intends to play for a few years before handing the keys over to Zach Wilson, and that may be just what the former No. 2 overall pick needs to avoid becoming one of the biggest busts in NFL history. That was certainly the trajectory Wilson was headed on after two underwhelming seasons under center in New York. The media has eaten him alive. It got to the point where he was benched for Mike White, who might be Miami's QB3 this year.
Wilson has plenty of arm strength and athleticism. Chaotic footwork and poor decision-making have been his undoing at the professional level. Unconventional, off-platform throws are often what helps Rodgers set himself apart from his peers, not to mention the finer details of playing the position. This exchange between the two signal-callers on Hard Knocks about play fakes was particularly awesome:
After initially being in denial about costing his team a shot at the playoffs during last season, Wilson has turned over a new leaf and is embracing life as a backup to learn from one of the legends of the sport.
Any young person with a working brain would make that change, though. What's been kind of surreal is how different Rodgers is since he landed with the Jets. The weird energy, seeming animosity, and passive-aggressive tendencies that defined the end of his Green Bay tenure are nowhere to be found thus far. Although Jordan Love hasn't had anything bad to say about Rodgers per se, I don't think the latter embraced mentoring his Packers successor in quite the same way he's put his arm around Wilson.
Since it's still the preseason, there's little reason to read too much into how Wilson has fared. He looked excellent in exhibition games as a rookie, only to look completely overwhelmed once actual NFL Sundays rolled around. Nevertheless, Wilson is out there playing free, dropping bombs:
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And banging moms showing off those WHEELS:
Will Wilson ultimately turn his career around? I don't know, but it can't hurt that he's bonded so well so quickly with Rodgers. As long as he keeps putting work in behind the scenes in the ensuing years, while he (hopefully for the Jets) observes what it takes to win consistently in the NFL, he has more than enough talent to be a high-end starter. In, like, 2026 or whenever.
The biggest hurdles to clear will be mental, I assume. Rust will need to be knocked off if and when Wilson gets his next shot to start. Plus, all that scar tissue of piss-poor play from his first two seasons should be hard to shake off. Should he pull off an improbable comeback, it'd be one of the most unique career arcs we've ever seen in the NFL. Kind of reminiscent of another ex-Jet, Geno Smith. Maybe we shouldn't write off Wilson just yet.
Zach Wilson, I stumped for you coming out of BYU. Would really appreciate it if you made good on Rodgers' wishes, did some decent quarterbacking once he hands the reins to you, and keep the Jets relevant for a while longer. Just don't beat the Bengals.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok