saw this scout assessment on zach wilson after last season and to me, it is amazingly accurate;
Athletic and energetic signal caller with good arm strength, but struggles to accurately drive the ball downfield downfield and does not bring needed continuity. Passer first and a runner second. Well-schooled mechanics and decent play-action fake. Competitive and poised. Will stand in there. Shows ability to go through progressions, but too often breaks down under pressure and the play does not net yield a positive outcome. Has excellent escapability under pressure and can take off and pick up yardage. Has some Houdini to him, but lacks accuracy when flushed out. Good arm strength. Accuracy and ball placement leave a lot to be desired at all three route levels. Tries to hard to steer the ball at times. Throws too many dangerous passes. Hesitates at times and that knocks off the offense’s timing. Does not know always know what he is seeing in coverages. Struggles to put together sustained drives. Looks overwhelmed. Eventually will transition into a back-up role and will not see a second contract with the Jets.
To my untrained eyes, this review looked very much like Wilson last year, and many of those problems - particularly getting flustered or panicked when protection fails or he is trying to make something from a broken play and the ball goes out hard and errant, were apparent. The running game has helped take pressure off him, but I think he has looked better in all regards this year. I don't think there is any reason to draw the conclusion pushed in the last sentence above. I don't doubt it will take more time, but I also don't feel like he has settled into the full speed of the game. Until we see what he is showing once he's as comfortable as he will get, I don't see how anyone can tell the future. I think he has clearly shown enough continuing improvement to let him develop.
He's a 2nd year QB from a weaker college schedule who missed a lot of time last year to injury. Fields, from a far tougher college conference looks horrible in comparison. Lawrence, from a similarly tough and pressure laden conference to Fields is growing too, maybe a full step ahead of Wilson. Half of Florida was calling for Tua's removal 5 games ago. I don't think we'll know until he has some semblance of a healthy OL and has played enough to feel comfortable in the situation. I think there is a lot of talent and willingness to work in there. Writing him off at this point and heading back into the Darnold, Mayfield, Dalton, PJ Walker, Heinicke or re-mortgage your team's future to draft a shiny new rookie QB and start over ... seems a far worse course than giving this physically talented kid who is at least contributing to, if not responsible for, one of the team's best runs in decades, every reasonable chance before claiming to have decided his future at that he's destined to fail.
to tackle.
