17 May 2023 , 14:26
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New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas admits the team have mishandled struggling quarterback prospect Zach Wilson, agreeing with head coach Robert Saleh that the third-year prospect is in a better situation to succeed in Aaron Rodgers' shadow.
Former BYU gunslinger Wilson has failed to deliver as desired since being taken with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, with 15 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 71 from his 22 starts for the Jets.
And after being benched down the stretch last season, it seemed Wilson's time in the Meadowlands was coming to a premature end with the franchise bringing in four-time MVP Rodgers in an off-season trade with the Green Bay Packers.
But the Jets have since confirmed that 23-year-old Wilson will be on the roster as the backup QB going into the new season, and Douglas accepts the franchise pushed him into the starting lineup too soon when he was a rookie instead of allowing him to learn from a veteran.
"I go back and I look at a lot of things and things that can be done differently, things that were in our control, out of our control," Douglas told Pro Football Talk.
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"And every situation’s different. I feel like in today’s NFL, when you take a quarterback in the first round, and you take a quarterback high, time’s against you. And you need to see what you have so you can make a decision in that four-year window, three-year window.
"I think going back, it would have been great to have a veteran quarterback like a Joe Flacco that first season. But ultimately, we made the decision to jump in head first with our youth movement. We know there’s going to be some growing pains, but we’re all going to grow together. I think we saw some of the benefits of that last year.
Aaron Rodgers was officially acquired by the New York Jets last month (Elsa/Getty Images)"But sometimes you don’t take into account the ramifications of playing a young quarterback early in his career. And so, I think if I had to do everything over again, I would have probably had that veteran presence in the room early for Zach."
Douglas and Saleh are in agreement that Wilson has significant untapped potential as a pro and the right work ethic to succeed in the NFL, with Saleh saying in March he thought the signal caller would be "a fixture here for a while".
And Douglas believes the chance to learn from Rodgers as his understudy will do Wilson the world of good as he tries to prove he is capable of being the Jets' starter in future.
"Zach has an unbelievable ceiling and Zach is wired the right way in terms of his love of the game, his work ethic, his attention to detail," Douglas added. "And so, this is a great opportunity for him to shadow one of the best passers of all time in Aaron Rodgers and pick up every little thing he can from him and get better every day."