Wilson Has A Jets Future & Rodgers Could Play A Major Part In That Happening

The National Football League pre season is almost now finally done and dusted ahead of the 2023 season beginning for real, and Robert Salah made a bold move for the New York Jets when he made an approach for legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The trade made perfect sense, Rodgers has a wealth of experience and despite his obvious potential, Zach Wilson is absolutely not yet a reliable starting option – not quite yet at any rate.

The former BYU star, and number two overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, does not yet look the part when it comes to reliably and consistently driving the Jets to success in the coming campaign and the pure stats state he has a 55.2 career completion percentage so far, but has thrown more picks (18) than touchdowns (15) in his last two seasons.

But just as the Rodgers trade made sense in light of the above, it also makes perfect sense given Wilson’s potential – put incredibly simply, who better to learn from and use as a pure mentor? Whilst also from a NFL betting perspective and having a little flutter on the outcome of the eventual Lombardi Trophy winners for this, the Jets are now +1800 to lift it, a seventh favourite, with many feeling the Kansas City Chiefs are more odds on at +600.

That does seem to be a train of thought going through Salah’s head, as he has recently gone on record to state that he believes Wilson will have a very long career ahead of him in the NFL, and he is hoping that he will achieve his full potential with the Jets in the foreseeable future.

Knocking on the wooden podium for those with a bit of a superstitious nature, he explained.

“He’s gonna be in this league for a long time.”

It is a very bold prediction for Salah to make given the fact that Wilson has not really proven himself yet on the gridiron, and despite the flashes he has shown that show him to truly have a great talent behind his throwing arm, he also did not really play top class competition at BYU during his days there – so there is a big element of a culture and professional shock at play as he makes the transition from a rookie draft into a proper professional.

18 picks in two seasons prove that, but the truth is he just has not adjusted yet to the difference in quality and speed. He will continue his adjustment during this pre season, but that adjustment will be absolutely magnified by working with, learning from, and listening to someone of Rodgers’ talent and stature.

Whilst pre season has not been great for Wilson in the eyes of many commentators, there are others who do feel that Rodgers is already beginning to have an impact on his style of play and the confidence he exhibits and they are noticing improvements in his game already. Some note that he seems to be getting slightly cleverer on his snaps to draw out zone infractions by moving towards hard counts, and he is varying his playbook selections so he is becoming a little less obvious in his approach to offense.

There is still one obvious thing Rodgers can help him with though – fake throws and fake intentions – pre season has shown he is still giving off too many easy reads. These can often be fractional of a second decisions, and not always on the quarterback if the receiver makes a mistake of the own, but it is something he needs to work on.