Zach Wilson Could Use A Mentor During His Rookie Season

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Zach Wilson is all alone as the presumptive starting quarterback for the New York Jets. However, that has not mattered all that much through two preseason games in which he has impressed a lot of people, including former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who compared Wilson to basically every all-time great signal-caller of all-time.

The reason Wilson might be considered alone as the quarterback is that his backups are Mike White, James Morgan, and Josh Johnson. I’ll wait while you look up those names.

That trio is a bunch of unproven quarterbacks and while Johnson has been in the league since 2008, he has been on 14 different NFL teams, and this is his second go-around with the Jets.

There is no veteran presence to help Wilson navigate being thrust into the starting quarterback as the No. 2 overall pick, especially in a city like New York.

sports.ksl.com’s Scott Mitchell spent over a decade in the NFL and was fortunate enough to have learned from one of the greats in Dan Marino. Mitchell said a mentor would greatly benefit Wilson, since this rookie year will likely be one of his toughest years ever playing football.

“Quite frankly, there is nobody there to show him how to do it,” Mitchell said. “The one coach who really could have been a mentor for him, unfortunately, died in a car accident. Greg Knapp was around some of the best of the best for a long time. He truly, really would have been a mentor for Zach Wilson and that is not there.”

“There is no quality veteran quarterback who can say, ‘Hey kid, let me show you how it actually happens.’ Zach Wilson will be overwhelmed in the beginning, and when you are overwhelmed you will start to panic.”

.@19scottmitchell wishes Zach Wilson had a mentor to show him the ropes of being an #NFL quarterback. pic.twitter.com/cPfIhLuiUq

— KSL Unrivaled (@KSLunrivaled) August 11, 2021

So far in the preseason, Wilson looks really good and had some amazing throws against the Green Bay Packers in his second outing. However, that will change drastically once the regular season starts in a few weeks.

https://twitter.com/kyleireland/status/1429188804800237573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1429188804800237573%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.ksl.com%2F466399%2Fzach-wilson-tosses-first-nfl-touchdown-in-jets-packers-week-2-preseason-game%2F%3F

Meeting An Idol

Wilson got the chance to chat with future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers when practicing with the Packers and wanted to take in as much information as possible leading up to their preseason matchup.

“It’s like I want to do what he’s doing, but when you’ve got 16 years of experience, and the checks and the calls he’s making on the field,” Wilson said. “If I could spend more time with him and keep asking questions I would.”

Learning from the best.@ZachWilson 🤝 @AaronRodgers12 pic.twitter.com/aNJwVJTvGY

— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 18, 2021

Meeting Rodgers had to be a dream come true for Wilson and a great opportunity for him to learn as much as possible during the joint practices this week. With no quarterback on the roster with high-level NFL success, Wilson needs to take in these moments and get in as much as possible from players like Rodgers.

There will be ups and downs, plus the expectations are going to be high for Wilson. He was a top draft pick and is playing in New York City, where every single thing he does will be scrutinized.

It is not as if he is going into the season alone and with no help as the starting quarterback, but no one else in that QB room has been in his position and can relate to him when things go good or bad.

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