Dan Orlovsky makes case for Zach Wilson taking biggest leap among second-year NFL quarterbacks
Former BYU star and New York Jets starting quarterback Zach Wilson had a rough first year at the helm but things could look up in a major way in 2022. Former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky broke down why he believes Wilson could make the biggest leap of all the second-year quarterbacks, a class that includes Justin Fields, Mac Jones, and Trevor Lawrence, among others.
“I think it’s Zach Wilson and I don’t really think it’s close,” Orlovsky said on The Rich Eisen Show. “The quarterback that we saw set up going into their second season to play this well was Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. I look at it like this, No. 1, second year in a system that has for 40+ years had quarterbacks play above their talent level. It’s quarterback friendly when it comes to the commitment to the run and easy play-action passes.
“Their offensive line has three first-round picks on it… It’s got a chance to be a pretty darn good offensive line. Tight ends, two first-round selections at wide receiver, a second-round wide receiver, and basically a first-round back in Breece Hall.
“I think Zach Wilson is going to have a giant leap. He came back from injury and he looked like a good player. from everybody that I’ve talked to and know in that organization, they say he’s taken a massive leap when it comes to his ownership and his role within the organization.”
In the 2021 season, the former Cougar had 2,334 passing yards with a 55% completion rating. He had nine touchdowns to 11 picks thrown but finished the season with a clean record in the INT column in the last five games.
Jets keep the faith in Zach Wilson
Famously, Zach Wilson shot up draft boards following a stellar season at BYU. Prior to that, he wasn’t even in consideration to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, a far cry from going second overall behind Trevor Lawrence.
The former BYU standout passed for 3,692 yards for the Cougars in his final season. He completed 73.5% of his passes with 33 touchdowns. Wilson added 250 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground before declaring as an early entry in the 2021 NFL Draft.
As Wilson continues to adapt to playing in the NFL, he has ample support from Robert Saleh. The Jets head coach compared Wilson’s shortcomings to Peyton Manning’s rough start as a rookie, who eventually blossomed into a Hall of Famer.
“There’s a reason why being a rookie is hard in this league,” Saleh told reporters. “There was a Hall of Famer that was inducted that had a 71 quarterback rating his rookie year. It’s not easy to play quarterback in this league as a rookie, especially a quarterback. But it is going to get worse before it gets better. But he’s at that point now where he’s going to be able to stack up days. We have the utmost confidence in him and his ability.”