Jets' Zach Wilson trusts the process of game preparation

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Zach Wilson believes you can’t prepare enough. He has a very detailed and specific routine and system that he uses to get ready for each practice and game.

It started when he was at BYU. It involves film being cut up in a certain order, information overload and then, as it gets closer to game day, really focusing in on some key areas that will make things easier. Wilson finds this process so crucial to whatever success he has.

"The process of understanding how to go better is so important," Wilson said after Sunday’s practice. "It’s one of the most important things as far as approaching every single day with the mentality of, ‘How can I fix some of the mistakes I made and don’t make the same mistake twice.’ Game preparation is also part of my process."

The Jets selected Wilson with the No. 2 pick in the draft because of all the physical tools he has, including a strong arm and the ability to make plays off-schedule. But they also were impressed with his maturity, how he sees and recalls plays and his work ethic.

Wilson’s process is a big part of that and has been talked about plenty during training camp. Jets coach Robert Saleh said it’s "light years ahead of normal rookies." It’s just one of the many reasons the Jets feel confident that Wilson is the quarterback who will eventually lead them to the playoffs.

"I don’t know how veteran quarterbacks do it in the NFL," Wilson said. "I kind of found something that works for me as far as just making sure I get on the tape and sort cut-ups into a certain way. I watch games early in the week and I start to get more cut-ups of situations as the week goes on. I have a process of just overloading information as the week goes on."

"At the end of the week, my process is now how can I give myself one to two things that’s going to simplify the game for me, it’s going to tell me exactly what’s going on by one thing."

Wilson will be doing all of these things leading up to the Week 1 game against Carolina and former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold on Sept. 12.

"You sit here, and you have all day to diagnose what’s going on," Wilson said. "But on the field, you got a couple of seconds. You don’t want to be sitting out there and overthinking anything. It’s like, ‘How can I simplify?’ That’s part of my process. Taking all this information and simplifying it.

"I started to understand that that was something that worked for me. Every week in college I was coming up with something new that maybe helped me or didn’t. Then I get here and I’m going to keep learning new stuff. I’m sure my process will keep going on. But that’s the process that works for me."

Wilson had a strong showing in the preseason. He was 15-for-20 for 191 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He led the Jets on four scoring drives in six series. But now it’s for real and against starting defenses, which Wilson didn’t face in the preseason.

Saleh said the Jets already are on to preparing for Carolina and that Wilson just needs to keep progressing.

"Every game is going to present a different challenge," Saleh said. "He’s going to get different looks. They’re not going to be as vanilla. He’s going to see more speed on the field with regards to defense. He’s going to see every week a different scheme.

"There are so many different things that are going to happen for him over the course of the year. He’s just got to find ways to absorb the information, find ways to get better, take care of the football and do his best to put us in position to win football games."

Wilson trusts his process.