I’ll admit to my bias right out of the gate: I am a Zach Wilson apologist.
And with those blue-tinted BYU glasses on I will also say this right out of the gate: It only took two games for the New York Jets to turn Aaron Rodgers into Zach Wilson.
During Rodgers’ brief time with the New York Jets, including his 2023 season that consisted of four snaps before his shoddy offensive line gave up a sack that resulted in a torn Achilles tendon, the future Hall of Famer is 13-of-22 (59%) for just 167 yards with one touchdown, one interception, and two sacks.
In a very limited sample size, Aaron Rodgers' performance thus far as a New York Jet mirrors the type of production the team got out of Zach Wilson before running him out of town on a rail.
I will go to my grave believing the former BYU star could have been a solid NFL starter today had almost any other franchise drafted him instead of the dysfunctional New York Jets. Almost any young quarterback would have struggled in the circumstances Zach faced in New York given the team’s coaching changes, ineffective game plans, porous offensive line, media scrutiny, and temperamental fan base.
Through two games with the Jets, Aaron Rodgers is struggling, too.
While Zach definitely contributed to his subpar performance by sometimes slowly process reads and holding on to the ball too long, those are common challenges for new NFL quarterbacks. Competent NFL teams surround young, developing quarterbacks with pieces to help them grow, including a solid offensive line and somewhat simple game plans. The Jets failed Zach Wilson in almost every aspect.
When Aaron Rodgers arrived in New York last year he was feted like a conquering hero. After all, the prevailing sentiment of some media members and New York fans is the only reason the Jets aren’t the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions today is because of Zach Wilson.
Right?
Well, as Aaron Rodgers might say, when it comes to criticizing Zach Wilson’s time with the Jets his detractors might just want to R-E-L-A-X.
Now, Rodgers’ talent and abilities are in a completely different stratosphere than those of a young Zach Wilson. A-Rod is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him adjust to his new team, benefit from a massively upgraded offensive line (something the team FINALLY did only after trading Zach), face less difficult defenses than the San Francisco 49ers, and put up really big numbers this year. But many BYU fans, myself included, are hoping that the dysfunction that inhibited Zach Wilson rubs off on a Jets offense now being led by a future Hall of Famer.
In doing so, BYU fans aren’t wishing evil upon Aaron Rodgers. Cougar fans simply want Jets fans and the national media to see that the team’s struggles over the last couple of seasons weren’t solely due to Zach Wilson’s shortcomings. The Jets mediocrity over the past couple of years were primarily attributable to a floundering organization as a whole.
And the narrative of shifting the blame away from the Jets quarterback to the organization itself has already begun.
After Rodgers’ less-than-stellar Monday Night Football performance the national media has started pointing fingers at everything surrounding the Jets quarterback instead of at the player himself. Here are a few of the quotes from Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports:
“The 40-year-old signal-caller hit Allen Lazard squarely in the hands, but the veteran receiver dropped the ball, resulting in a Jets punt.”
“While Rodgers threw an interception in this loss, it's hard to pin the turnover solely on the four-time MVP. Yes, Rodgers faced pressure in a collapsing pocket and forced the ball in a tight window to (Garrett) Wilson, but the ball bounced directly into the arms of Niners linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles in what was a stroke of tough luck.”
“After failing to convert on third-and-1, the Jets kept the offense on the field trying to cut into the 29-13 lead. Rodgers dropped back and had Wilson over the middle for the conversion, but seemed to throw the ball a touch behind him, allowing a 49ers defender to disrupt the pass. The result was a turnover on downs.”
Man, Zach Wilson apologists like me wish the former No. 2 overall pick would have been given this amount of grace by the national media during his uneven tenure in New York. The way Sullivan writes about Rodgers’ experience against the 49ers is how BYU fans have felt for three years defending Zach Wilson:
“That ball hit the receiver right in the hands and he dropped it!”
“Zach’s facing constant pressure and collapsing pockets!”
“That interception can’t be pinned solely on Zach!”
“That was just bad luck!”
“That throw was a pretty decent throw but was just a touch behind the receiver.”
When it was Zach Wilson under center, the impotent Jets offense was a Zach Wilson problem. Now that Aarond Rodgers is in control, any offensive shortcomings will be a Jets problem.
Many BYU fans like me will be closely monitoring the New York Jets this season to see if the offense still sputters while being led by a Hall of Fame quarterback. Zach Wilson has moved on to the Denver Broncos and left the Jets in his past, but it might take passionate Cougar fans a little longer to leave New York in our rear view mirrors given the way they treated BYU’s former quarterback.