Steve Young Explains What Zach Wilson Needed In Order To Succeed With The New York Jets

Steve Young is one the NFL’s all-time great quarterbacks.

Young played 15 NFL seasons. He made seven Pro Bowls, won three Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Zach Wilson is…not that.

The New York Jets selected Wilson with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Just two seasons later, he’s looking like one of the biggest draft busts in league history. In 22 career starts, Wilson has an 8-14 record. He’s thrown for 4,022 yards (182.2 per game), 15 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

New York appears to be ready to cut bait with the BYU gunslinger already and it’s hard too imagine he’ll have a whole ton of suitors in free agency.

But where did things go wrong for Wilson and what could the Jets have done differently? Young believes he has the answer.

Steve Young Believes Jets Should Have Shown Softer Touch With Zach Wilson

The Jets parted ways with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur on Thursday. But prior to doing so, Young said that LaFleur and head coach Robert Saleh should’ve handled Wilson differently.

“Zach doesn’t need tough love. He doesn’t need somebody to see how tough he is,” he said on The Michael Kay Show. “He needs a big brother — a young, knowledgeable innovator, someone who he can trust and says to him, ‘You know what, despite everything that’s happened, Zach, I believe in you. You can get this done.’ Zach needs that. Mike kind of kept him at arm’s length and kind of gave him the tough love aspect, and I don’t think that’s really useful for Zach.

“Zach’s problems are not physical. Zach’s problems are expectations and how he deals with expectations.”

Maybe Young is correct. But at some point Wilson needs to go out on the field and show he has the physical and mental tools to be an NFL starting quarterback. Until that happens, it’s hard to place too much blame on anyone else in the situation.