Zach Wilson endured one of the most difficult seasons in his young career this past NFL season. Throughout the season, many including the New York Jets put the blame on the young quarterback. Now after getting traded to the Denver Broncos, their former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning fired shots at the Jets for the way they handled Wilson.
After struggling through three tumultuous years, the former No. 2 overall pick was traded to the Denver Broncos this week. Hall of Famer Peyton Manning follows the journey of most signal callers in the NFL. Based on what he has seen, he had quite a few words to say about Wilson’s move while speaking on Denver Sports radio.
The change of scenario for Zach Wilson, I think, is going to be a good one. The best way to really screw a young quarterback up is to change coordinators on him every single year. Peyton Manning said
Essentially, the former MVP indirectly suggested that the New York Jets are responsible for his disappointing years. Their constant changes have impeded his development.
Manning’s logic does hold true as the New York Jets had Mike LaFleur as Wilson’s offensive coordinator for his first 2 seasons. Then they brought in former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett running the plays this past season.
Manning believes if the system was the same, different coordinators would have the same result. However, with the arrival of Hackett, the system changed to favor Aaron Rodgers. Therefore, Wilson’s development was stunted in between all these changes.
Peyton Manning thinks Sean Payton’s system will help Zach Wilson
Peyton Manning thinks that being in Sean Payton‘s system with the Denver Broncos will help Wilson in the long run.
Sean Payton has a unique system, not necessarily much carryover from any of the systems that Zach has been in. So, I think for Zach, I think a reboot actually is good. Let’s just sort of start over, right? And let’s just let Sean Payton and his staff coach you and kind of start from ground zero, which I think might be just what Zach needs. Peyton Manning added
The former Super Bowl champion believes that staying in Payton’s system will eventually unlock Wilson’s potential. After all, there must be something good in his game that made him a No. 2 pick.
The system that Manning talks about is something that comes with coaches who have particular schemes in mind. Once in place, even if coordinators keep revolving, the system ensures that the players have continuity. That continuity will help to accelerate their development. Peyton Manning has already reached out to Zach Wilson and welcomed him to Denver. The former Bronco great is excited to see Wilson develop.
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