The Jets have been thrilled with how Zach Wilson accepted the change this offseason from face of the franchise to going through a reset behind Aaron Rodgers.
Wilson has said all the right things and embraced working with Rodgers, who he grew up rooting for.
His performances in the preseason were not anything special but he also avoided any major mistakes.
It was a good training camp for Wilson overall.
Now, he shifts into regular-season mode, which means he’ll get almost no reps with the starting offense.
Wilson will be relegated to the scout team, playing the role of that week’s opposing quarterback each week.
So, how is Wilson approaching this regular season as the backup?
“One is of course watching the starters, making sure I’m 100 percent ready to go,” Wilson told The Post this past week. “You never know so you’ve always got to make sure you’re taking advantage of watching, learning from those reps, asking questions, preparing as if I was a starter. Then, the reps I do get on scout team, making sure I take advantage of them to work on things and continually try to get better.”
Wilson said he is not necessarily approaching the scout team reps as he is trying to imitate the opponent — this week Josh Allen — but also working on his own progression.
“The goal is to still go through my reads and find guys if they’re open but if nothing’s there — because it is scout period, sometimes things break down, protection is not always sound because we haven’t practiced it — yeah, getting out and making plays,” Wilson said. “That not only benefits the defense but it’s helping me. It’s helping me work on off-schedule plays. It’s not necessarily being Josh Allen. It’s something I try to do every week to work on that stuff.”
As for game day, Wilson said being on the sideline is something he has experienced in his first two years either due to injury or when he was benched, so he does not anticipate it feeling odd Monday night watching from the sideline.
“I don’t know if it will be strange because in my first two years there have been times with injuries or not getting out on the field,” Wilson said. “It will probably feel not as familiar but I’m used to it a little bit. I’m taking that role of watching, learning, following along as much as I can and always being ready. You never know when your time is called. I’m making sure to always help Aaron as much as I can, what I see and go with the game.”
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