If Mike Tannenbaum was still running the show in New York, the process might have unfolded a little differently with Zach Wilson’s development.
Whether that would have impacted the end product, he doesn’t know.
The start of Wilson’s career has been, in a word, uneven. The second overall pick in 2021 and second of five quarterbacks taken in the top-15 of that draft, injuries and inconsistency have marred his early years. Wilson has shown encouraging flashes, mostly when he plays outside the pocket, but he was thrown into the fire right away in an offense Mike LaFleur, who was canned this offseason, didn’t tailor to his skillset.
Sure, Wilson hasn’t held up on his end of the bargain. But there also have been some cards stacked against him. The former Jets GM said on “The Sports Junkies” he has wondered if things could have gone differently for the BYU product.
“Quarterback is a developmental position, and it’s going to take time,” Tannenbaum said. “I look at a guy like Zach Wilson – and I don’t know if things would have been different or not – but clearly if they had brought him along more slowly in New York, maybe the outcome would have been different. But sometimes when these guys are drafted in the top-10, top-15, there’s this sense they’re going to be superstars overnight.”
For all the widespread castigation of Wilson, if there’s any organization that should know it’s too soon to totally write him off, it’s the Jets. Even with the Sam Darnold and Mark Sanchez examples to point to (plus plenty of others), you also can look at Geno Smith, who rebounded greatly a few years after leaving New York.
Smith might be the aberration in terms of failed Jets quarterbacks. Still, it might be reason enough to play things out longer with Wilson, even if it means adding a better option at present to play in front of him.
It’s not going to be Derek Carr though, meaning the Jets’ options already are beginning to thin. If they swing and miss a few more times, there might be little choice but to keep trotting out Wilson.
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