Sean Payton On Broncos Debut For Zach Wilson: ‘I Like The Way He Played’

DENVER – Zach Wilson remains No. 2 on the unofficial depth chart. He also remains rooted with the third team in terms of the snaps he receives in practice — and, as demonstrated last Sunday in Indianapolis, preseason game play.

But that status didn’t mean that he failed to impress Sean Payton. Quite the contrary, as the Denver Broncos head coach offered his most effusive praise of Wilson so far in training cam when asked about him following Wednesday’s practice.

“I felt his reps in the game were really good,” Payton said. “… I felt like he was real comfortable again. We were in and out of the huddle. There was no clock. I mean, all of that was smooth.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton liked what Zach Wilson showed Sunday:

“His decision-making & he’s aggressive. I like that he’s going to take shots. He’s got a good live arm. I thought he had a real good game … I mean, you felt it on the sidelines. You felt experience, just poise.” pic.twitter.com/nrNwuBJ3Zl

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 15, 2024

But his ability to handle pre-snap procedure was just the beginning of what Payton enjoyed about Wilson’s play.

“He’s aggressive. I like that he’s going to take shots,” Payton said.

Indeed, Wilson’s average depth of target Sunday — per the data compiled by Pro Football Focus — was 8.9 yards, greater than the 7.4-yard average of Bo Nix and the 7.7-yard average of Jarrett Stidham.

But Payton also pointed to the value of experience — which, when asked previously about Wilson, was an attribute to which he noted, saying previously that Wilson had a calmness that came from having 33 career NFL starts — 29 more than Stidham and Nix combined.

“I like the way he played and, I mean, you felt it on the sidelines. You felt experience, just poise,” Payton said. “Even in the timeout where we’re going to try to draw them offsides, I gave him a hard time, [asking], ‘Can your squeaky voice get these guys offsides?’

“I just challenge him.”

Zach Wilson 🤝 Peyton Manning

📷: @Broncos pic.twitter.com/qI1RgiNEci

— Ensign Gridiron (@EnsignGridiron) August 17, 2024

The question now is whether Wilson has challenged enough to actually push for the No. 2 spot — which appears more and more to involve pushing Stidham.

Zach Wilson had the day’s only giveaway among the quarterbacks, but it wasn’t entirely on him. His interception during the seven-on-seven period saw a pass skip off the hands of David Sills and into the grasp of safety Omar Brown. One play before that, Wilson dropped a dime down the right sideline that was dropped.

Wilson did not get a chance in the move-the-ball period, as Payton opted to go two units deep before the double horn to end practice.

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