Is Zach Wilson Trending To Be Quarterback No. 3 For The Denver Broncos?
Jul 30, 2024, 3:00 PM
Quarterback Zach Wilson #4 of the Denver Broncos throws during Denver Broncos OTA Offseason Workouts at Centura Health Training Center on June 04, 2024 in Englewood, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Denver Broncos have arguably the most wide open quarterback race in the NFL. Sean Payton’s team has three quarterbacks in the mix. This includes 2024 first-rounder Bo Nix, former No. 2 overall pick and New York Jet Zach Wilson, and six-year veteran Jarrett Stidham.
The first week of training camp for the Broncos had all three taking reps as they tried to narrow down their quarterback room. So far, the Broncos staff have split reps.
During the first week of training camp, Payton sounded cautiously optimistic when he said the three quarterbacks have been doing “well” early with reps being split up among the trio.
Broncos HC Sean Payton, on the team's QB rotation so far: "They're doing well … You know, we don't have a sum total, but the rotation has been pretty consistent. I think that will begin to change a little bit as we get into the next week and a half, two weeks." pic.twitter.com/phFb4TzIx8
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 28, 2024
Wilson came over during the offseason via a trade from the New York Jets. The trade should provide him a fresh start, gettings away from the New York media spotlight that can be difficult to navigate.
With Payton being considered a great offensive mind, the early thoughts on this trade were that it could be Payton who could get the most out of Wilson.
It is still too early to tell what Wilson’s future with the Broncos looks like as training camp is barely a week old.
Does Zach Wilson’s Starting Experience Help?
Wilson by far has the most experience in the Broncos quarterback room with 33 career starts. Those starts with the Jets were all over the place with many peaks and valleys. For his career, he has 23 touchdowns to 25 interceptions.
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Starting experience can be helpful but if those game reps are not consistent or good, they may not ultimately matter.
When asked to describe how Wilson’s starting experience could benefit him in this race among other quarterbacks, Payton had to stop and think about it.
This was not just a short pause but it was nearly six seconds to gather what to say about Wilson. That silence was more telling than the word salad Payton put together in his response.
I asked Sean Payton about the ways in which Zach Wilson’s starting experience in the NFL manifests here in Denver compared with the Broncos’ other two QBs (combined 4 starts).
“Um,” Payton said, followed by a 5.6-second pause before he shared his reply. pic.twitter.com/Ml8wBMHoR0
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 25, 2024
“I think we will be able to see that a little bit clearer in the games but, he is learning a new offense, just like [rookie] Bo [Nix] is,” Payton said. “But there is a calming presence to seeing him. You know, in other words, that experience, I think, makes you begin to appreciate what’s most important, and maybe sometimes what is not as important takes place. So, less wasted energy maybe.”
Those remarks do not seem to be beaming with confidence.
Wilson At The Bottom Of Depth Chart?
Andrew Mason covers the Denver Broncos for Denver Sports and joined JJ & Alex on The KSL Sports Zone to give his thoughts on what he has seen at training camp in regard to Wilson’s performance so far.
According to Mason, Wilson has been inconsistent with some of the best throws but also some of the worst passes during the early parts of Broncos training camp. His assessment is that Wilson is on the outside looking in.
.@MaseDenver joined @KSLSportsZone to get his thoughts on where Zach Wilson stands in the @broncos QB race.
In short, it has been up and down through #BroncosCamp. pic.twitter.com/OC1ruovowP
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 30, 2024
“Zach Wilson was the third quarterback up, and he had arguably the best throw of the day of any Broncos quarterback,” Mason said. “A nice little pass to tight end Greg Dulcich, and then he had the worst throw of the day. He had a play that nearly got picked off.
“On an overall basis, it just seems like he’s probably in need of some kind of longer term football rehab to kind of get back on track. I think there’s some distance between those other two quarterbacks and Zach Wilson, based on what I’ve seen.”
The next week of camp will be telling if Wilson can make the cut as one of the two quarterbacks to earn the starting job for the Broncos this year.
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