5 biggest takeaways from NY Jets 2023 preseason

3. Improvement of Zach Wilson

Aaron Rodgers turned heads with his comment this preseason about playing for two years and then turning the team to Wilson for the next 15 years. I don't necessarily think he is that wrong.

When the team traded for Rodgers, I wrote about how Zach Wilson is the Jets player who has the most to gain by Rodgers' arrival, despite losing his starting job.

Some thought that the Jets should trade Wilson for scraps or relegate him to practice squad duty. But I argued that Wilson should be the Jets' backup every game for the next two seasons.

It is clear already that Wilson is learning tons from Rodgers, and via documentary series such as "Hard Knocks" and "One Jets Drive," it appears they have an awesome relationship. Rodgers is truly embracing the mentor role, and Wilson is truly embracing the student role.

The impact has also been seen during the preseason games that Wilson has had tons of opportunities to play in. He finished the preseason 37-of-56 (66 percent completion) for 365 yards and a touchdown. Most importantly, he didn't turn the ball over once.

Yes, he played extremely cautiously and often checked down for sure completions. However, he also showed significant signs of improvement. The old Zach Wilson tried to extend far too many plays, scrambling outside the pocket way too early and forcing bad passes down the field.

During his preseason action, though, Wilson was getting rid of the ball much faster, showing signs of starting to read the defense through an entire play progression, and did tuck the ball and run when he needed to, including a highlight-worthy 35-yard run.

Wilson has always had all of the arm talent in the world to make every throw across the entire field. What he failed to show was the discipline and consistency to be a weekly starter for an NFL team.

He showed that this preseason. With another full season of growth and an entire offseason to learn under Rodgers again, I think Wilson can once again be the franchise quarterback.