Through his first four career games, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has struggled plenty. His head coach is preaching patience with the No. 2 overall pick.
Wilson has hit on just 57.3% of his passes while throwing four touchdowns and a league-high nine interceptions. Four of those picks came in a Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots.
The hope for Jets fans is that Wilson and first-year coach Robert Saleh can grow together. On Monday, Saleh stuck up for the beleaguered signal caller in his session with reporters.
“It’s not easy being a rookie quarterback, never has been, never will be,” Saleh said, via the team’s website. “Josh Allen the first five games of his rookie year, the numbers were the same as what our guy is going through. I know it can be frustrating sometimes, but it’s going to start clicking. It’s a rollercoaster ride and you have to take the good with the good, and the bad with the bad.”
Given how starved the franchise has been for a reliable quarterback, it is understandable that some Jets fans don’t have much patience for Wilson.
However, Saleh is correct that rookie QBs often have growing pains, and Wilson is not the only class of 2021 passer to perform poorly this season. There have also been some obvious highs from the BYU product, including his 297 yards passing and two touchdowns in a win over Tennessee in Week 4.
On another note, Saleh and his staff could stand to make things easier on Wilson, particularly early on in games. The Jets have been miserable in the first quarter of games this season, failing to score a touchdown through five weeks and generating less than 100 yards of total offense combined in those games.
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