Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett addresses Zach Wilson benching

New York Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spoke with reporters Wednesday and addressed head coach Robert Saleh relegating quarterback Zach Wilson to third on the depth chart for Friday's home game against the 7-3 Miami Dolphins. 

"I think he’s gotten better," Hackett said about Wilson, per the Jets' website. "He’s worked hard. It’s been a brand-new system. I think there’s been so much change. I think that there’s been a lot of expectations, and for him, he really did do some good things. I think in the end, it’s about opportunity that we’re all facing. It’s opportunity for more change to have other people get opportunities, and there were some missed opportunities before. So, I think for us, we’re moving forward and we’re very excited about this next game."

Hackett joined the Jets this past offseason and, thus, wasn't with the organization when it selected Wilson with the second overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft and when Saleh benched Wilson twice during the 2022 campaign. While newly-named starter Tim Boyle has thrown only 120 career regular-season passes since 2019, he first had Hackett as an offensive coordinator when both were with the Green Bay Packers during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

"He has an unbelievable knowledge of the system," Hackett said about Boyle, according to Ben Krimmel of SNY. "He has a tenacity when it comes to his preparation. I mean non-stop from everything, from every single drawing to every single thing on the game sheet. He prepares truly like a starter and has since day one."

ESPN stats show that the Jets enter Week 12 ranked 30th in the NFL with an average of 15.0 points per game and 30th with an average of 270.3 offensive yards per contest. It's understandable Saleh and Hackett embraced an "anyone but Zach" mentality following three straight defeats, but expecting Boyle to go from a journeyman to somebody capable of starting for an alleged playoff contender overnight could prove to be the franchise's latest mishandling of its quarterback room.