Jets QB Zach Wilson: practice is the time to take risks

The rookie Jets quarterback and No. 2 overall pick is learning the position ahead of his inaugural professional season.

Practice is much different than a game setting.

Sure you have 11-on-11 windows during the workouts, but going through the playbook and building a rapport with your teammates at your training facility is the time to take the on-field risks that you may not be able to take in games.

Zach Wilson is realizing this — the rookie quarterback, who the Jets drafted at No. 2 overall back in April, is beginning to figure out the throws he should and shouldn’t attempt on the game field.

This is a great answer and perspective on *practice* pic.twitter.com/x5bPCH7Si8

— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) August 11, 2021

“Taking care of the ball is 100% a quarterback’s job, and one of my goals when I came out here and I got drafted was to adapt to this NFL game as quickly as I can,” Wilson said. “I can’t be afraid to make mistakes, especially in practice — this isn’t a game, this is where I’m learning what I can get away with and what I can’t. There are times when maybe in a real game I probably wouldn’t throw [a certain pass], but there are times [in practice] when I’m like, ‘Well, let me try and see what I can get away with’…That’s what we practice for — to play situations out like that.”

Wilson hasn’t exactly shown flashes of Aaron Rodgers or Dan Marino during his inaugural training camp prior to his first-ever NFL regular season.

But this is still the beginning stages of what’s to be a crucial developmental period for the novice signal-caller.

Zach isn’t supposed to put it all together right away, regardless of the talent around him (Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Jamison Crowder, Michael Carter, etc.).

This is the time to learn how to handle the position at the professional level, both physically and mentally — taking risks and seeing what throws should and shouldn’t be made are components of the overall process.