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Rookie quarterbacks have struggled in the NFL this year. Each of them has had at least one game this season. However, for Trevor Lawrence of Jacksonville and Zach Wilson of New York, the difficulties were evident in every game. For Lawrence, much of the blame fell on head coach Urban Meyer. For Wilson, much of the blame fell on his offensive line.
In three weeks, no quarterback has been sacked more often than Wilson. He hit the bridge behind the line of scrimmage 15 times in three games. He was pressed 20 times (tied for NFL lead with Josh Allen, Buffalo). He’s been pressured 43 times (leading the NFL) and he’s been pressured over 35.2% of his losses (also leading the NFL). His offensive line must be atrocious, right? Well, once you take a closer look at some of the data, you start to realize that a lot of these bags … are actually Wilson fault.
Of the 15 sacks Wilson suffered, Pro Football Focus only accredited five to the Jets’ offensive line (Morgan moses: 1; Greg Van Roten: 2; Connor mcgovern: 1; Alijah Vera-Tucker: 1). That leaves ten sacks, or two-thirds of the total, that are not the offensive line’s fault. Five bags have been accredited to Zach Wilson. This leads all quarterbacks in the NFL, both in total and in percentage.
The Jets’ offensive line actually hasn’t been as bad as most people would like you to believe. Are they good? No, not by any stretch of the imagination – but they certainly aren’t that type of “open border policy, let everyone else pass” unit that we’ve been told they are. In fact, when Wilson comes back to pass, he’s usually about 2.5 seconds before the bag collapses. It’s tied for fourth in the NFL with Detroit, New Orleans and the LA Rams. Wilson still has plenty of time to throw the ball, but either can’t find open receivers, doesn’t have the confidence to make some pitches and is questioning himself in the pocket, or his receivers can’t open. in general.
It’s not the offensive line’s fault.
Now you might be thinking, “Well, then why aren’t these other teams with similar pocket times facing similar rates of pressure?” There are a lot of things in there, but in short, it’s because they’re throwing the ball. Of the three quarters tied with Wilson in average pocket time (Goff, Stafford and Winston), only one has a average time to launch greater than Wilson’s 3.02 seconds (Winston – 3.17 seconds). Goff has an average shooting time of 2.85 seconds this season, while Stafford is averaging 2.71 seconds. With those numbers in mind, is it any wonder that Winston (pressure rating of 31.3%) is the only quarterback on this list to face pressure levels similar to Wilson’s (pressure rating of 35 , 2%)? The New Orleans Saints have one of the most talented offensive lines in the league, but protection can only last a while. If the quarterback does not drop the ball, the rushers will eventually reach it.
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Not to mention that Wilson did not do well, even with a clean pocket. Passing from a clean pocket, Wilson threw for one touchdown, five interceptions and an average of 6.4 yards per game. Only one of Wilson’s seven interceptions occurred while he was being bombed. Even Jets right guard Greg Van Roten has said publicly that Wilson needs to learn how to get the ball out, according to Connor Hughes, the Jets’ beating writer for The Athletic.
I don’t already call Wilson a bust. There have been hundreds of quarterbacks who suffered from growing pains in their first few years out of college. However, we have to stop blaming the Jets offensive line. Rookie quarterbacks shouldn’t be above criticism, and thankfully Wilson’s tendency to hold the ball too long is something that can be worked on and improved through changes in attacking pattern. It’s not an irreversible problem, but until we recognize that Wilson has this problem, he won’t see any reason to improve.
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