Zach Wilson shows growth during Jets' Green and White scrimmage
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson throws during the Green and White scrimmage at MetLife Stadium on Saturday. Credit: Corey Sipkin
Zach Wilson is starting to stack together some good practices and is showing signs of the growth that the Jets have been expecting from their young quarterback.
Wilson had a strong performance in the Jets’ Green & White Scrimmage on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also scrambled twice for 24 yards on a touchdown drive that ended with a 10-yard strike to Tyler Conklin.
Wilson’s numbers would have been better if not for some drops by his receivers. There were four total: one each by Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Jeff Smith and Braxton Berrios.
“I really thought he was really good,” coach Robert Saleh said. “He dropped a dime that buzzed a defender’s head that I thought was a chance to keep the drive going, had a really good strike there in the two-minute drive.
“He moved around in the pocket, found some open lanes to run and bide some time. He was really good in the huddle. I was just standing back listening to him. He was good with cadence because he was changing up his cadence. I thought he was really good.”
These were all things the Jets need to see from Wilson, who also led a field-goal drive.
He came out hot in the first series, completing all five of his pass attempts for 44 yards, capped by the throw to Conklin.
After the field-goal drive — a 56-yard kick by Greg Zuerlein — Wilson wasn’t as sharp in the next series. He threw into tight coverage and his pass for Garrett Wilson was nearly picked off by Bryce Hall. On the next play, he was intercepted by Del’Shawn Phillips.
Wilson bounced back on his final drive, which was a two-minute drill. He moved the football, completing passes to Davis for 16 yards and Conklin for 6 yards. The defense “sacked” Wilson on two of the next three plays.
On second-and-14 from his own 49, Wilson threw a bullet to Davis in stride that would have been a first down, but Davis couldn’t come up with it. After a 7-yard completion to C.J. Uzomah, Wilson tried to connect with Davis on a long gain on fourth down, but the pass fell incomplete.
Saleh said he wasn’t trying to make any excuses for the receivers, but he thinks the first time playing in the wide-open stadium may have led to some drops. “We got professionals, we got to make plays,” he said. “At the same time, just talking to the guys the first time in the stadium, the depth perception is much different. So you just got to retrain your eyes for all of that, too. Not to make excuses, but at the same time, it’s a real thing. We just got to adjust a little bit.
“That’s why we have these scrimmages. That’s why we have preseason games, so we can get acclimated to everything. Overall, I thought the receivers battled a lot in man coverage, won some one-on-ones.”
Overall, Saleh thought the Jets got a lot of good work in and liked how the offense and defense went back and forth. The Jets will try to make the necessary corrections as they prepare to play their first preseason game on Friday in Philadelphia.
Uzomah said their operation in and out of the huddle has to be quicker so Wilson can analyze the defense.
“That was our first very heavily move-the-ball period,” he said. “Personally, I think we did some good things. But we’re a long way from where we need to be. We already know what they are, we already know the corrections we need to make. I’m excited for the coming days to fix that.”
Two-minute drill
Cornerback D.J. Reed did not practice because of a hamstring issue. Saleh said it was “more precautionary” than anything. . . . Running back Ty Johnson and defensive end Vinny Curry also did not practice because of hamstring issues.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
