Zach Wilson was taken with the second pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now I know what you may be saying, can Wilson be considered a bust just three years into his NFL career? Normally I would probably say no, but in Wilson's case, the answer is yes.
Wilson was supposed to be the savior for the New York Jets. He was meant to come in and elevate the Jets' offense and help bring this team to a Super Bowl. Wilson in his first season played in 13 games and started all of those games due to suffering an injury in week 7. Wilson came in and ended up hurting the Jets' offense more than helping it.
Wilson's second year was worse than his second. After dealing with injury in his first season, he opened his second season injured as well. Once he got back in the starting lineup, Wilson was back to his turnover ways. After a tough 10-3 loss, Wilson was benched and demoted all the way to a third strong quarterback behind Mike White and Joe Flacco.
In the offseason before the 2023 season, the Jets traded for MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, effectively ending Wilson's time in New York. However, a very early injury to Rodgers forced Wilson back onto the field after receiving a lot of criticism in the offseason.
Wilson played well in that first game, but again because of a problem with turning the ball over or not being able to produce for the offense. Head coach Robert Saleh went back and forth with choosing to play Wilson. There were ties he was the starter and then suddenly he was the third strong again. There was a lot of controversy over Saleh talking about how he didn't support Wilson and didn't want him on the field.
Ultimately, Wilson was unable to lead the Jets to the playoffs for the third straight season and now rumors of trades are swirling. Even though Wilson has shown flashes of greatness, he has never been able to be consistent in his career, effectively making him a bust at this point in his career.