With Zach Wilson’s season over, and head coach Robert Saleh urging the struggling quarterback to get away from the game, read a book, and reset, the former No. 2 pick will likely have plenty of time to reflect on where his brief NFL career has gone wrong.
For the coaching staff responsible for Wilson’s development, reflection has already begun.
Asked about Wilson on Thursday, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur acknowledged that Wilson likely would have been better off serving as the backup in his rookie season, playing behind a proven veteran to learn the ins and outs of the NFL before being handed the keys to the franchise.
“I use the example of what’s going on in Green Bay right now,” LaFleur said. “It was Brett Favre, Aaron [Rodgers] sat for four, five years, and Julian Love is going through it right now. I’m not there at practice, I can just go off of what I hear in how much improvement he’s had through three years of sitting there watching Aaron and going through the scout team. that was and is his path, and we’ll see what holds for Jordan.
“Similar to Zach, in hindsight, it probably would have benefitted to sit back and learn a little bit and watch a veteran and just kind of grow in this league in the back seat watching and getting better in practice and through the scout team and all that. That wasn’t the course that we went, and from here, we have to pick it up, we have to pick up the scraps, and get back to work.”
LeFleur and Saleh have pointed to Wilson’s footwork and lower body mechanics as a starting point for that offseason work, as the franchise will try to rebuild a prized prospect that they were convinced would lead the team to contention. Instead, Wilson seemed to hold an otherwise promising Jets core back from its full potential, leading many to clamor for Gang Green to move on from their highest draft pick since Keyshawn Johnson in 1996.
“People don’t want to wait,” LaFleur said. “They want the instant gratification of these rookies, these second-year guys, to be superstars. And you get why. This is a highly competitive environment.”
So, as Wilson heads into an offseason loaded with uncertainty, the Jets remain hopeful that the quarterback they envisioned he could be is still in there, and his failings so far should be blamed on the coaching staff, which is now admitting they could have handled his development better.
“There’s still development to be had,” LaFleur said. “Through two years, yeah we haven’t done our job with him. Any player at any position that isn’t producing to the level that they’re capable of, as a coach you’ve failed them.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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