Jets Country

Joe Douglas Endorses Zach Wilson: 'I Feel Very Confident About His Development'

New York's general manager made it clear that he has faith in Zach Wilson as the quarterback finishes his rookie year.

Max Goodman

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Zach Wilson's rookie year was far from perfect.

The rookie quarterback showed his weaknesses, missed time with a knee injury and sprinkled in a few performances that were hard to watch over the course of the season.

But Wilson also flashed the potential that influenced the Jets to draft him with the second overall pick last year. His arm strength is elite, his playmaking ability outside of the pocket is special and he improved tremendously as the campaign progressed, battling adversity along the way.

Wilson also convinced Jets general manager Joe Douglas that this franchise has their quarterback for the future.

"I saw a ton of growth from Zach this year," Douglas told reporters in a press conference on Monday. "I think it’s difficult to be a rookie playing quarterback in this league, and I know coach [Robert Saleh] has talked about it all season, but I think the strides you saw Zach make after coming back from the injury, and on top of that, not always being in position to be playing with the starters at all the skill spots, at wide receiver, tight end, running back, but to improve, to keep the team in contention late in these games a little undermanned. And, on top of it, taking care of the football. I think those are all very impressive things in the back half of the season."

As Douglas alluded to, Wilson was able to settle into a groove and produce better numbers after his PCL injury, ending his rookie season on a high note.

Before Wilson exited New York's game against the Patriots in Week 7 with an injury to his right knee, the quarterback had thrown nine interceptions over six games with just four touchdown passes.

After missing four games, Wilson returned and threw just two interceptions over the final seven games of the year (with five scores through the air and four on the ground).

Again, there's plenty of room for improvement for the young signal-caller. Wilson's completion percentage was a liability all year long and he needs to get better at balancing his off-script plays outside of the pocket with staying tall and delivering throws on target down the field or simply throwing the ball away. 

It's clear that everyone in the building, however, from Wilson's teammates to the coaching staff, have faith that this 22-year-old is the right quarterback to lead this team as they take another step forward in their rebuild. 

That starts with another formative offseason for the BYU product as he looks to grow and evolve before embarking on his sophomore season in green and white.

"I feel very confident about his development moving forward," Douglas added.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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