Sean Payton Speaks On Zach Wilson, Trade With New York Jets

DENVER – Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke on former BYU QB Zach Wilson and the team’s interest in bringing the former No. 2 overall pick to Denver.

In April, the New York Jets agreed to a trade that would send Wilson to Denver for two 2024 picks.

Sean Payton on Zach Wilson: “We just felt like, man, we’d love to work with this guy. It wasn’t too long ago; we remember grading him & we felt the investment was worth it relative to his skillset & his talent…We spent the better part of a month & a half working on that trade.” pic.twitter.com/QfahENi12l

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) June 5, 2024

“We just felt like, man, we’d love to work with this guy,” Payton said. “We remembered grading him and we felt the investment was worth it relative to his skillset and his talent. We spent the better part of a month and a half working on that trade.”

Wilson is currently in the middle of a heated quarterback battle with the Broncos.

It is unknown at this time who will be the week one starter between Jarrett Stidham, Bo Nix, and Wilson.

OTA’s continue for the @Broncos as the race for QB1 continues.

Zach Wilson ran with the 1’s today.
Bo Nix seems to be winning the back flexibility contest. pic.twitter.com/d7DMm7QUja

— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) June 4, 2024

Stidham has the most experience in Denver’s system while Wilson and Nix are fighting to prove that they have the most upside of the three.

The Denver Broncos open their 2024 season in Seattle against the Seahawks on Sunday, September 8.

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About Zach Wilson

Before his time in the NFL, the Corner Canyon High School product had a standout career at BYU. Wilson helped the Cougars to an 11-1 record during his final season in Provo.

Following his college career, the Jets selected Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Corner Canyon product entered his rookie season as the Jets’ starting quarterback. Wilson experienced multiple knee injuries that caused him to miss games during his first two seasons.

 

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Midway through his sophomore NFL season, the Jets benched Wilson. After returning to the lineup later in the year, Wilson was benched again.

He entered the 2023 season as Aaron Rodger’s backup. However, Rodgers went down with a season-ending injury a few plays into New York’s first game. Wilson was thrust back into the starting lineup for a team that showed the same flaws from past seasons.

Late in 2023, Wilson was benched for the third time in his career. He returned to the field a couple of weeks later after the Jets found no success with their other quarterbacks. Wilson suffered a concussion the following week and didn’t play for the remainder of the regular season. The former BYU star missed New York’s final three games and the Jets finished with a 7-10 record, missing the playoffs for a 13th straight year.

.@ZachWilson throws his third touchdown pass of the season. #LocalsInTheNFL #NFL #SNF #TakeFlight #KCvsNYJ #BYUFOOTBALL @kslsports pic.twitter.com/LOX7n3J7bT

— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) October 2, 2023

In his third season, Wilson threw for 2,271 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions with a completion percentage of 60.1. He also ran for 211 yards.

During his three years in the league, the former BYU star has thrown for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions with a 57.0 percent completion rate. He’s added 498 yards and five touchdowns with his legs.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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