When Zach Wilson takes the field to begin a new era for the Jets on Sunday, he will do so as one of the team’s voted leaders despite not yet playing a single NFL snap.
New York voted the rookie quarterback as one of its team captains on Wednesday, a telling and encouraging sign for the second overall pick who has been tasked with pulling the franchise out of the AFC East basement.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Wilson said. “It’s a role you gotta take seriously. It’s who people look up to on the team, who they feel like they can come to with any problems or any questions when they come about. I definitely don’t take it lightly.”
When Wilson hits the gridiron this weekend, he will also be going toe-to-toe with the last Jets quarterback who was seen as a hopeful savior in Sam Darnold, who the Jets took third overall three years ago before deciding to move on to Wilson. But Wilson, embracing his captain label, didn’t add any extra hype to the matchup of Darnold and the Panthers versus Wilson and the Jets, which will represent a failed New York experiment against what the team hopes will be a better fit.
“That’s definitely not something I think about,” Wilson said. “He’s doing his own thing now, he’s got a great situation going for him. The organization already decided to go one way, and it’s not because Sam is not a good football player. They wanted a fresh start.
“I’m happy for him, and it’s a new situation for me. That’s not even something that crosses my mind. It’s just how I can continue to get better every single day, prepare to do the right things on Sunday, and how I can help the team win football games.”
Wilson is instead keeping his focus on his own sideline rather than what will be staring across from the other side of the field in Carolina on Sunday. Darnold’s tenure in New York was a failure, but the new captain Wilson has his sights on his relationships with the current Jets.
“Something I’ve tried to work on is my personal and emotional connections with guys off the field,” Darnold said. “Obviously, everything is business when we’re here, and on the field you want to be that guy they can look to, but off the field, you want to be somebody that actually gets to know them and understands their background, where they came from. I think that’s super important.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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