Zach Wilson Commends Trevor Lawrence Before First NFL Showdown

New York Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson praised Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence before their first NFL matchup, saying he'll be cheering Lawrence on.

Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence will face off for the first time in the NFL on Sunday.

Leading up to the Week 16 showdown between the Jets and Jaguars at MetLife Stadium, this year's No. 2 overall pick had nothing but positive things to say about the No. 1 overall selection.

"He's a good dude, a cool guy to be around," Wilson told reporters on Friday. "It's going to be a fun matchup because we'll be playing for hopefully a long time. It's going to be cool just to follow his career and match up against those guys. I hope he does well."

Wilson revealed that the two signal-callers got to know one another during combine training leading up to the 2021 NFL draft.

Considering these rookie quarterbacks won't literally play against each other between the lines on Sunday, Wilson said that he'll be able to root for Lawrence.

"We can both have success," Wilson explained. "Yes, do I want our team to beat the Jaguars? Yeah I do. I hope we go out there and play well. But I don't look at this as me versus Trevor. Or my stats versus Trevor's. It has nothing to do with that. 

"It's not like we're fighting for a starting position on the same team, we can cheer each other on."

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Both Wilson and Lawrence have struggled at times during their rookie years, dealing with their own adversity in New York and Jacksonville, respectively. 

Lawrence has thrown 14 interceptions this year, tied for the most in the NFL this season. Wilson isn't too far behind with 11 picks. You have to figure that number would be higher as well if he didn't miss four games with a knee injury.

While Wilson has dealt with a barrage of injuries around him on offense (and a COVID-19 outbreak), Lawrence is battling the challenges of a head coaching change midway through the season after Urban Meyer was fired recently.

Rookie numbers aside, Wilson commended his highly-touted counterpart, admiring the fact that Lawrence has always handled his expectations.

"He's done an amazing job of not listening to the noise and the expectations never got too high for him and he just handles his business," Wilson said. "Coming out of high school as the number one quarterback, college as the number one quarterback and then the NFL, that's tough. He's done it. I've got a lot of respect for him."

Sunday's contest will have a signficant impact on where these two teams pick in the 2022 NFL draft with only three games remaining in the regular season. 

Jacksonville (2-12) is currently in the No. 1 slot for a second straight season, per Tankathon. Meanwhile, New York (3-11) is presently scheduled to pick fourth and eighth overall (the second pick courtesy of the Seahawks and the Jamal Adams trade).

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