Wilson excited to be his "best self" with Dolphins

Quarterback Zach Wilson is hoping his past experiences will serve him well in Miami

Denver Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson (4) during training camp at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit last summer. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

At times, there are as many eyes on a team’s backup quarterback as there are any other position on the roster. And when your starter has a relatively lengthy injury history, even more people are paying attention.

The Miami Dolphins’ signing of former No. 2 overall draft pick Zach Wilson has taken that attention to the level of controversy because of his struggles with the New York Jets.

How the transition to Miami will go for Wilson is unanswered at this point, as he did not take a snap during the regular season with Denver in 2024. But the start the former Brigham Young quarterback got off to in New York with the Jets is well documented, as he struggled to cope with NFL speed and understanding the offense while also frustrating his team and coaches at times with postgame comments.

In fairness to Wilson, he was faced with two challenging situations when he was thrown into the fire, starting his rookie season right out of the gate, and then again after the team signed future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, only to see him injure his Achilles, putting Wilson unexpectedly back in the spotlight sooner than anticipated.

But Wilson is hoping that adversity will help him in the future.

"It was challenging," Wilson said on the Dolphins' Drive Time Podcast. "There's things, looking back, I wish I could have done so much better and maybe would have approached differently. But I think, at the end of the day, it's all part of the story. Learning from those experiences and those hard times ultimately is what got me here and hopefully being able to take advantage of the opportunity here."

WILSON EXCITED ABOUT DOLPHINS OFFENSE

Wilson sees an opportunity in the unique approach head coach Mike McDaniel takes toward building an offense and what he sees when watching it.

“Yeah, extremely explosive,” Wilson said about the Dolphins offense. “There’s obviously a lot of speed on the field. It’s been one of those teams that, when I have tried to watch film of the offense you really can’t replicate what they are doing. Coach (McDaniel) does a great job of altering things to his players and what their strong suits are.”

In New York, Wilson already had been coached by offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur who was came from San Francisco and the Kyle Shanahan-led offensive system, same as McDaniel and recently added senior passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik.

“I think it’s going to be a great fit for what I’m looking for,” Wilson said, “the type of offense, the amount of information I’ll be able to learn from these guys. I think it couldn’t have been a better match.”

And what he will be doing with Miami will only build on the learning experience he had last year under one of the league’s most successful offensive minds, Sean Payton, as well as offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who spent a year (2021) working with Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith when he was with the Chargers.

“They were phenomenal,” said Wilson. “It was almost a different look at playing the position. I felt like I was able to get on my feet and learn a ton of new things and felt like I was playing good ball so I am excited to kind of find out what’s next in the journey.”

Wilson, who is getting married in New York City this summer, said he met new teammate Tua Tagovailoa in California last year and actually threw the ball around with his brother, Taulia. He also said he’s excited to get on the field at Hard Lock Stadium.

“This was always one of my favorite stadiums, if not my favorite stadium,” said Wilson. “Every year we played in Miami in December or January, it was always freezing wherever we were at and I was always like ‘Man, I can’t wait to get to that Miami game and a little sun.’”

And as for what Dolphins fans can expect from Wilson, he stated he’s not going to let the opportunity slip by.

“Yeah, (I’m going to be) somebody willing to come into work every single day, take advantage of the opportunity, be my best self and let it fly.”

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