NY Jets: 3 changes that Zach Wilson must make going forward

1. NY Jets QB Zach Wilson must get the ball out quicker

Jets right guard Greg Van Roten made headlines with his comments that appeared to criticize Zach Wilson earlier this week.

Van Roten insisted that Wilson must do a better job of getting the ball out quicker which many perceived as throwing his rookie quarterback under the bus.

While his comments may have been unnecessary, they weren't inaccurate. The offensive line has done a below-average job of protecting Wilson to this point, that much is a certainty. But Wilson isn't helping himself out either.

The rookie has been sacked a total of 15 times through three games, but PFF attributes five of those to Wilson directly. No other quarterback has more than three sacks that they are responsible for.

While Wilson has been sacked at a rate of five times per game, a third of those sacks have been due to his own ability to create pressure for himself. It's not just sacks either.

Wilson has been responsible for eight of his 57 pressures so far, or 14 percent. The only QB with a higher rate is Patrick Mahomes, although he certainly makes up for that in other ways.

This is perfectly illustrated in Wilson's average time to throw. One would think that a quarterback getting pressured as frequently as he has would understandably have a low number in this category, but it's been quite the opposite.

In fact, only two quarterbacks (Jameis Winston and Lamar Jackson) have had more time to throw than Wilson's 2.85-second average. Sure, some of that has been because of Wilson's propensity to escape pressure.

But that doesn't explain why only five quarterbacks have had a higher average time to throw on plays that resulted in a sack. Wilson is averaging 3.79 seconds to throw on those plays, so it's hard to put all the blame on the offensive line.

Bottom line, Wilson needs to get the ball out quicker. No, his offensive line is far from perfect, but he's also been responsible for putting himself in danger far too often.

The coaching staff must do a better job of putting Wilson in more advantageous situations that allow him to get rid of the football quickly.

And most importantly, Wilson must learn when to check down or just throw the ball away.