Jets QB Zach Wilson opens up about struggles during camp

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson opens up about struggles during training camp

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Anthony Amador | Last updated 8/12/21

Zach Wilson was taken by the New York Jets with the No. 2 overall pick. As is typically the case when a franchise selects a quarterback that high in the draft, expectations for the former BYU standout were high coming in.

To say that he hasn’t met them thus far would be an understatement.

Things got off to a bad start from the very beginning, when Wilson found himself as the last unsigned first-round pick long after everyone else had already inked their deals.

When an agreement was eventually reached and Wilson finally got to practice, things only got worse. He struggled badly with accuracy, decision-making and just about everything else in his first session, and things didn’t improve much in subsequent practices.

It got to the point where the 22-year-old was getting routinely outperformed by Mike White and James Morgan – which kind of speaks for itself.

This week, Wilson got brutally honest about his struggles thus far.

This is a great answer and perspective on *practice* pic.twitter.com/x5bPCH7Si8

— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) August 11, 2021

“You know, I can’t be afraid to make mistakes in practice,” he said. “This isn’t a game so this is where I learn what I can get away with and what I can’t. There’s times in a game where I probably wouldn’t throw that, but [in practice] I’ll say ‘lemme try right here and see what I can get away with.’”

That said, Wilson also acknowledged that he understands his responsibility is to avoid turnovers.

“Taking care of the football is a quarterback’s job and one of my goals when I came out here was just like ‘how can I adapt to this NFL game as quickly as I can?’” he added.

Will Wilson be able to step up and meet the lofty expectations set for him? Time will tell.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

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