The former No. 2 overall pick in quarterback Zach Wilson has a new home, going from the bright lights of the Big Apple to the Rocky Mountains and the Mile High City.
On Monday, the New York Jets traded the former BYU star to the Denver Broncos, according to a report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.
The deal is a pick swap between the Broncos and Jets, according to Rapoport, with the Jets receiving pick No. 203 in the sixth round and the Broncos receiving pick No. 256 in the seventh round along with Wilson.
Wilson, as it currently stands before the NFL Draft, has a chance to compete for the starting job for the Broncos under head coach Sean Payton. Denver currently has Wilson and veteran Jarrett Stidham on the roster at quarterback and owns the No. 12 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft that starts Thursday in Detroit.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a chance to see Wilson in 2024 as Pittsburgh is set to travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. It could be a battle of the Wilsons at quarterback as the Steelers have Russell Wilson — a Bronco last season — while the Broncos could hand the job to Zach Wilson.
Hopefully Broncos fans didn’t burn their Wilson jerseys already.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Broncos have been discussing a trade for Wilson in recent weeks as the franchise believes he has tons of talent and potential still.
As the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson has had a rocky career with the Jets. He started 33 games for the Jets in three seasons, going 12-21 in his tenure, throwing for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. He added 498 rushing yards and five touchdowns in his career, but fumbled the ball 17 times and was sacked 113 times to date.
The last time the Steelers saw Wilson, he led the Jets to a 24-20 win on the road in Week Four of the 2022 season, completing 18-for-36 passes for 252 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also added a touchdown catch on a trick play in the win over the Steelers, which happened to be former quarterback Kenny Pickett’s rookie debut coming on at halftime for Mitch Trubisky.
It was Wilson’s first start of the season in 2022 and was arguably his best performance that season as he led the Jets to a 5-4 record in nine games.
