Zach Wilson impressing Jets, including Woody Johnson
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Woody Johnson has owned the Jets long enough to know better than to get prematurely excited about a young quarterback, but that is not keeping him from being impressed with what he has seen out of Zach Wilson so far this offseason.
Wilson has endured the occasional mishap throughout his first spring in the NFL, but early returns on New York’s prize potential franchise signal-caller have been mostly positive. Johnson has been at One Jets Drive to witness Wilson’s development in person after returning from his stint as United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. The owner has been satisfied watching the BYU product work.
“He’s a talent, for sure,” Johnson said Wednesday, per NJ.com’s Darryl Slater. “I know he’s a hard worker. He’s obsessive about tape. He wants to watch tape all the time. He looks as advertised.”
Wilson has made a strong first impression this offseason, with players, coaches and now ownership raving about him. New York passing game specialist Greg Knapp has 26 years of NFL coaching experience under his belt and has coached enough elite quarterbacks to know a top-end talent when he sees one.
So far, Wilson fits that mold.
“He is a fast study,” Knapp said. “He has done a good job of minimizing mistakes. You’ve got to expect mistakes from anyone starting the first time in any profession, it doesn’t matter, and I have seen very minimal, same mistakes, twice. He learns quickly from his mistakes and that is impressive to see from a young guy.”
Wilson’s pass catchers have also voiced their excitement over the 22-year-old’s potential. That includes Corey Davis, who said he thought Sam Darnold would be “the guy” for the Jets in 2021 after signing with the team in free agency.
“I’m excited that Zach’s here,” Davis said, bristling at a question about his previous Darnold comment. “I’m ready to get to work with him. Zach’s the QB. I’m excited about it.”
Wilson will undoubtedly experience his fair share of ups and downs as a rookie, but that is to be expected of any first-year NFL quarterback. The Jets are prepared to ride it out with him, and if his offseason to date is a sign of things to come, New York could have itself a budding star under center sooner than originally expected.
“Everybody is hopeful about his learning curve and they like his quick release and they like a whole lot of elements,” Johnson said. “That’s why they drafted him No. 2. I don’t think they’ve seen anything to discourage us in any of the elements that we picked him for.”
