Quarterback Zach Wilson was outstanding at BYU, but his NFL career hasn't played out as Cougar fans had hoped.
In his three years in Provo he threw for 7,652 yards and 56 touchdowns. He ran for an additional 642 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. During his 2020 senior season he piloted BYU to an 11-1 record and finished eighth in the Heisman voting. When he was selected No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft there was hope among the BYU fan base he would become the next Steve Young with Hall of Fame credentials, but that hope was quickly extinguished.
Zach Wilson's NFL journey
In a cruel twist of fate, Wilson was drafted by the dysfunctional New York Jets, the franchise where young, talented quarterbacks go to die. After three chaotic seasons with the Jets and some very up-and-down play from Zach himself, he ended his tenure in New York with a 12-21 record, 6,325 passing yards with a 57.0% completion rate, and more interceptions (25) than touchdown passes (23).
Those aren't good stats, to be sure, but situation matters and playing quarterback for the Jets from 2021 through 2023 was arguably the worst situation in the league. Yes, at times Zach was too slow making reads, held the ball too long, and struggled to sense pressure which added to his struggles. Even then, after getting thrown to the wolves as a rookie and winning just three of 13 starts in 2021, over his next two seasons Wilson went 9-11 as a starter while his replacements went 5-9.
In 2023 the Jets signed future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers with the intent of Wilson serving as his backup, but Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury after attempting just one pass behind New York's shoddy offensive line. In 2024 a healthy Rodgers went 5-12 as the Jets starting quarterback and his 229.2 passing yards per game was the second lowest of his outstanding career. The Jets entire organization was so bad during Wilson's tenure that they didn't just ruin young, talented quarterbacks, they broke Hall of Famers, too.
In 2024 Wilson left the black cloud that had become the New York Jets and signed with the Denver Broncos on a one-year deal. He didn't see the field during his one season in the Mile High City. Last year he joined the Miami Dolphins on a one-year deal to back up Tua Tagovailoa and saw some mop-up work with 11 pass attempts over four games.
At 26 years old, Zach Wilson is once again an NFL free agent looking for his next best opportunity.
While the odds of the former BYU star reclaiming another starting gig in the NFL is something of a longshot, there are plenty of examples of quarterbacks who struggled early only to thrive later on. If Zach Wilson can sign with the right team in the NFL's upcoming free agency period, he could get his career back on track.
Steve Young and other examples of late-blooming quarterbacks
While Wilson's journey back to NFL relevancy won't be easy, it is possible. There are precedents.
Take, for example, another BYU legend in Steve Young.
After his glorious career at BYU, Young was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1984 supplemental draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But rather than signing with the Bucs, Young spent two seasons in the USFL before beginning his NFL career. And his career, like Zach Wilson's, got off to a terrible start. In two seasons with Tampa Bay he went 3-16 as a starter and threw just 11 touchdowns against 21 interceptions while completing 53.3% of his passes.
In 1987 he joined the San Francisco 49ers as backup to Hall of Famer Joe Montana for the next four seasons. It wasn't until 1991, Young's age-30 season, that he became the full-time starter for the 49ers. In the nine seasons that followed he was arguably the NFL's best quarterback, winning two MVPs and a Super Bowl MVP.
It took Steve Young until his age-30 season to find the right situation. Zach Wilson is entering his age-27 season in 2026. There's still time for Zach.
And while Steve Young is an outlier, there are other precedents of quarterbacks who struggle early only to excel later. Sam Darnold floundered for three seasons with the New York Jets from 2018-2020, served as a backup for the next three seasons, only to then make the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons while leading the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory this year.
Geno Smith also floundered for four years with the Jets from 2013-2016, served as a backup elsewhere for several seasons, then earned the Seahawks starting gig in 2022, his age-32 season, and made two straight Pro Bowls.
Baker Mayfield was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, got traded in 20220 to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional fifth-round pick, got released by the Panthers mid-season, finished out his 2022 campaign with the Rams, and then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, his age-28 season. Mayfield made his first two Pro Bowls in his first two seasons with the Bucs.
Now, for every success story like those referenced above of quarterbacks finding their groove later in their careers, there are scores of quarterbacks who just wash out of the league: Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, Johnny Manziel, Josh Rosen, etc.
But as Zach Wilson enters free agency, the team he signs with this year could be the team where he finally succeeds.
It has happened before.
It can happen again.