Jets OC says team has not done its job developing Zach Wilson

The Zach Wilson era has been a disaster so for the New York Jets.

While much of the blame has been directed at Wilson for his poor play and lack of maturity, the organization also has to own some responsibility for his struggles. Offensive coordinator Mike Lafleur acknowledged that fact on Thursday in his weekly meeting with the media.

What is the biggest thing he said the Jets could have — and probably should have — done differently? Have Wilson sit behind a veteran quarterback for a year instead of throwing him right into the starting job. 

While drawing a comparison to the way Aaron Rodgers sat for a couple of years behind Brett Favre in Green Bay, Lafleur said it would have made sense in hindsight for the Jets to follow a similar path with Wilson. Since they did not do that, Lafleur said the Jets have to "pick up the scraps and get back to work."

The Jets used the No. 2 overall pick on Wilson in the 2021 draft and pretty much handed him the starting job. Things have gone so poorly in his first two years that Wilson was benched this year for Mike White, a former fifth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys. Even though it has not been reflected in the standings, the Jets offense has seemed to be more effective with White than Wilson. It is a pretty big problem when your No. 2 overall pick is getting outplayed by a player that profiles best as a backup. 

Making matters even worse for the Jets is that this is the second time in five years they have used a top-five pick on a quarterback (Sam Darnold being the other one) only to have them not turn out to be the guy to lead the franchise. 

Setting aside Wilson's struggles, young quarterbacks seem to be on an extremely short leash in this era while also having wildly unrealistic expectations put on them. 

There used to be a time, maybe not even 20 years ago, where the idea of starting a rookie quarterback was considered bold and aggressive. It was something usually only reserved for the elite prospects at the position. It was not uncommon for first-round picks at quarterback to sit for a year or maybe even two years before they got a real chance to start. 

Now they are not only thrown into the deep end of the pool from the very beginning, if they do not immediately succeed they are written off as a bust and dumped for the next top pick. 

A lot of that is due to the salary cap and the advantages teams can have with a young quarterback on their first contract. Even mid-level quarterbacks make enormous money against the cap, and if you are lucky enough to have a young starting quarterback on a cheap contract it enables teams to build up the roster around them. 

If it works out you might build a Super Bowl contender right away. If it does not work out you end up in the current situation with Zach Wilson.