Unrivaled: It Is OK That Zach Wilson Is Not Dan Marino

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Recently, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback had bold comments and very high praise about former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson while at the Utah Open.

Specifically, Romo compared Wilson to Hall of Famer Dan Marino, which is huge praise for a rookie who has yet to take a real snap.

“I think you guys don’t quite know how good this kid is. I think he is super rare,” Romo said. “I think he’s like a young Dan Marino.”

Former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is getting ready to play in the #UtahOpen this weekend. During his media availability he raved about Zach Wilson and the player he could become in the #NFL.
"I think he's super rare."🗣️👂🏽👇🏽#BYUFootball l #NYJets l @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/3ZNaANVnza

— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_KSL) August 19, 2021

Romo not only compared Wilson to Marino but he rattled off basically every elite quarterback of all time. That is a lot of pressure to put on a kid who has played in just two preseason games and in a city that will pick over every single move he makes on and off the field.

“I just think Zach has rare ability… I can see certain things and he has a couple of special traits. I think without knowing him – I think he is a hard worker and cares and loves the sport,” Romo said. “The ceiling is crazy high for this kid. I mean Patrick Mahomes crazy levels, which is saying something.”

According to the guys on KSL Unrivaled, the comparisons need to stop because they could set Wilson up for failure. He has not played a single regular-season game yet, however, in his two preseason games, he has shown to be a really good quarterback and making some great throws.

Zach Wilson throws an 18-yard strike for his first (preseason) touchdown as an NFL QB. #LocalsInTheNFL #NYJvsGB @kslsportspic.twitter.com/lOEQdJQ5P5

— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) August 21, 2021

His command of the offense and all of these throws he is making in the preseason show a lot of promise. There have been and will be people to question how good he can be since his BYU career was filled with some injuries and his 2020 season came under scrutiny since it was not the highest level of competition. All of that is slowly fading away with the more Wilson is out there on an NFL field in practice and preseason games.

Let Zach Wilson Be His Own Guy

People love to compare this guy to that guy or say this player is the next fill-in-the-blank elite athlete. It is not fair to make those comparisons for rookies and especially ones who were selected by teams with bad records, like Wilson.

There is no doubt Wilson has talent and maybe some of the things Romo mentioned in his praise, but Scott Mitchell of KSL Unrivaled wants fans the temper their expectations and just see how things play out.

Mitchell really likes Wilson going back to his high school days. He also knows Marino quite well and spent four years with him as a teammate with the Miami Dolphin and said there is no one is as good as Marino.

“Zach Wilson is very good and I can tell you right now, he is not Dan Marino, there is no one that plays today that is like Dan Marino and there was no one who played when Dan Marino that played like Dan Marino,” Mitchel said. “By the way, there is no one like Patrick Mahomes today. These are unique talents. They never say to anyone that Patrick Mahomes looks like ‘so and so’ or John Elway looks like fill in the blank he looks like John Elway, period.”

“Watching Dan Marino every single day for four years was flat out amazing, it was artistry, and was beautiful. Every pass, I kid you not, looked perfect,” Mitchell added. “The decision-making, the accuracy, it was unbelievable, and that was just in practice. I have yet to see something that Zach Wilson had done where I say, ‘I have never seen that before’ or ‘that is out of this world.’ This isn’t a knock on Zach Wilson and I think he is a special talent but he has a long way to go before he is Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Dan Marino, or other great quarterbacks.”

It is far too early to have Romo compare Wilson to every all-time great quarterback in the NFL. Maybe one day there will be a new young quarterback in 10-plus years that reminds everyone that they are the next Wilson. All of these comparisons are just unfair and can set players up to fail.

Wilson may never be the Marino or Elway and that is fine, but he still could be an elite quarterback and do things those quarterbacks never did in their prime while leading the New York Jets to massive success.

Why can’t Zach Wilson just be the next Zach Wilson and see where it leads him?

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