ENGLEWOOD, Colo — Maybe, just maybe, it would have been different for Zach Wilson with the New York Jets had he not so tragically lost one of his first NFL coaches in Greg Knapp.
The Denver Broncos’ quarterback coach from 2013-16, Knapp had been hired by the Jets as passing game coordinator in January 2021. Knapp had a way about him. In 2015, when head coach Gary Kubiak flipped from Peyton Manning to Brock Osweiler to Manning again, it was Knapp who kept the whole thing together for the proud quarterbacks.
Knapp had worked May and June with the rookie Wilson, the Jets’ No. 2 overall draft pick. In July, just before the start of training camp, Knapp was riding his bicycle when he was struck by a motorist and later died from his injuries.
Knapp was Wilson’s connection with his former team, the Jets, and his new team, the Broncos.
“So tough,’’ Wilson said Thursday following the Broncos’ third OTA practice. “I really got about two months to spend with him and he was the most phenomenal guy you will ever meet, as I am sure you guys know having him here.
“It was too bad and it really hurt. The feelings I have for him and his family, too, it was really tough. Not just what he brought to the game, but him as a person. I was excited to work with him and really helped me get through those rookie growing pains. It was very unfortunate.”
Wilson is a reclamation project for Sean Payton and the Broncos. It did not go so well for Wilson in his three seasons with the Jets, even he did have some magic moments in defeating the Broncos each of the previous two years. Wilson’s stats in New York:
Yr W-L C% Yds TD INT RTG
2021: 3-10 55.6 2,334 9 11 69.7
2022: 5-4 54.5 1,688 6 7 72.8
2023: 4-7 60.1 2,271 8 7 77.2
Totals: 12-21 57.0 6,293 23 25 73.2
“I feel like you learn the most when things are not going the best,’’ Wilson said. “You bank those reps, and you learn from them. In three years of things being challenging, you’re going to learn a lot of things. Hopefully I can keep carrying those with me.”
Payton had his analytics department do some research on quarterbacks drafted in the first and second rounds who had better stints with their second teams.
The list includes recent examples of Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith and Ryan Tannehill. Perhaps Jared Goff could be thrown in there. During the Broncos’ OTA practice Thursday, Wilson used a more effortless, whip-like throwing delivery than his other QB competitors Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham. Wilson did, after all, spend last offseason with Jets’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“I like his experience,’’ Payton said of Wilson. “You can tell he’s played, and I feel like he has very live arm strength. He’s picking up the offense pretty quickly.”
Although Payton is rotating his three quarterbacks each OTA practice with the No. 1 offense, the way to bet on how it turns out during the 2024 regular season is first-round rookie Bo Nix will start with Wilson as his backup. Stidham may have made the most impressive throws Thursday and cannot be counted out.
“I do love spending time with this quarterback room,’’ Wilson said. “It’s new for all of us. Bo coming out of college and now it’s a transition for him. I love living out here on the West Coast, so it’s a little easier for me. You quickly acclimate. You get to know some guys on the team who are phenomenal dudes. You can tell they bring in guys here with great character, so it makes the adjustment process easy.”
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