What we learned from No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson's preseason debut for New York Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was a moment New York Jets fans have been waiting for since the NFL draft in April. And it finally happened Saturday night.
Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick, played his first professional game as the Jets faced the Giants at MetLife Stadium. It was just a preseason game, of course. But it was an important milestone and our first chance to evaluate Wilson in a non-practice setting.
So how did he look? And how much did he play? Here are our takeaways from his first professional outing.
1. An efficient beginning
Wilson was on the field for two drives and a little over one quarter, which was the plan laid out by coach Robert Saleh late in the week. He completed 6-of-9 passes for 63 yards and led the Jets on one scoring drive — Chris Naggar converted a field goal on the Jets' opening possession of the game.
Wilson didn't do anything flashy during his 20 plays on the field. And the Jets didn't ask him to. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur took a balanced approach, running the ball 11 times with nine passes during Wilson's time on the field. He completed his first pass as a pro for a 9-yard gain to Corey Davis and went from there.
2. Best throws come at critical times
Wilson didn't have any huge plays in this game. But his two best throws both came on third down, which is exactly what you want to see from the rookie quarterback.
On the first drive, with the Jets facing third-and-6 on the Giants 27, Wilson found Davis on a perfectly timed out route on the left sideline. It was a quick release and the throw had good velocity. Davis picked up nine yards near the sideline and the drive stayed alive.
On his second and final drive of the game, Wilson and the Jets started deep in their own territory. And Wilson helped the Jets get out of the shadow of their own end zone with his biggest gain of the night: on third-and-9 from his own 20, Wilson delivered a strike to Keelan Cole for a 16-yard gain and a first down.
Wilson had plenty of time to throw and he used it, as Cole found a soft spot in the middle of the defense and caught the perfectly-placed throw from Wilson.
Wilson ended up going 3-for-4 on third down while converting two into first downs. He couldn't find Davis on third-and-4 from the Giants 12, ending the first drive. And on the second drive, on third-and-14, he found tight end Tyler Croft for a 13-yard gain — that came after Wilson converted the third down with a short pass to Jamison Crowder on the previous play, but it was wiped out by offensive interference.
The Jets went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Giants 42, ending the drive and his night.
3. The bottom line
Wilson was playing against the Giants' backup defense, so we still don't know exactly how he's going to look against a real NFL defense. But that shouldn't take much away from his performance. This was the first time he faced a defense he'd never seen before and his first time on a professional field, and it went pretty well for him.
And he faced some real challenges, like the possibility of actually getting tackled for the first time since he played a college game nearly eight months ago. On the second drive, the Jets failed to pick up a blitz and Giants linebacker Tae Crowder came running through untouched. Wilson saw him and got rid of the ball quickly, avoiding a big hit.
Overall, Wilson wasn't spectacular. But he left the field without taking a big hit and he had a solid, efficient performance. An ideal result for his first preseason game.
Andy Vasquez is the Jets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. Email: vasqueza@northjersey.com; Twitter: @andy_vasquez