There have been mixed reports coming out of Denver on Zach Wilson’s chances of winning the starting quarterback job, but at least one commentator isn’t counting Wilson out.
Kay Adams discussed Wilson’s path to the QB1 job on her FanDuel TV show, “Up & Adams,” on Thursday.
“It was assumed Bo Nix would have a clear path, but there’s rumors about Wilson looking good. We know he has the athleticism,” she said.
Adams said Broncos coach Sean Payton made the move to get Wilson for a reason, making it a real quarterback competition between Wilson, first-round pick Nix and Jarrett Stidham, who started two games for the Broncos last season.
“It was a very alt move. It was a very ‘I have a healthy ego. I can do something that they weren’t able to do with this guy,’” she said. “You think he’s not going to want to play with that a little bit and see what he’s got? He wouldn’t have made the move if it wasn’t going to be a competition.”
Who will be the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback?
Adams shared a clip from Payton’s press conference on Wednesday, where he said the quarterback who would give the Broncos the best chance to be a contender this year would be tapped as the starter.
“The object is to win,” Payton said. “In our league, it’s year to year, you know, and so, man, we’re competing to win this year, and we’re going to make the right decision relative to who gives us that opportunity.”
Adams doesn’t believe Payton’s remarks are just smoke or an act of gamesmanship.
“He is going to go with whoever gives them the best shot. He’s gonna make the right choice. He doesn’t punt on seasons, OK?” she said. “In 16 years as a head coach, he’s never won fewer than seven games, so this job is going to have to be earned. And that’s why I don’t dismiss Zach Wilson as a candidate. I think it was a really thoughtful decision. I think there were other candidates he could have looked at to bring in.”
Adams pointed out that Payton and the Broncos could have brought in other quarterbacks like Sam Howell and Justin Fields but ultimately chose Wilson.
“I don’t think it was a ‘Let’s get a body in here and like, give it to Bo and maybe he can learn something from Zach Wilson.’ No, he sees something he wants to uncork in the sucker,” she said.
How many quarterbacks have had successful second acts in the NFL?
If given the chance, Wilson could possibly accomplish something few quarterbacks have done before.
Of the 69 quarterbacks drafted from 2000 to 2023, 30 were unable to lead their teams to the playoffs as their team’s primary starter, according to Adams, and of those 30, only Jay Cutler was able to take his second team to the playoffs — Cutler and the Bears only made it to the playoffs once in eight seasons.
“We saw the ability coming out of BYU. Somewhere along the line, things were broken for him, and we get that,” Adams said. “It’s hard to peel that back. It’s very hard to put the quarterback toothpaste back into the tube. But if anyone can do it — and I believe that — and has the talent to do it, it is Sean Payton, so I’m not writing Zach off as a candidate here.”