The Denver Broncos are throwing former 2nd overall pick Zach Wilson a lifeline in the 2024 offseason. The Broncos made a trade with the New York Jets to acquire Wilson the week of the 2024 NFL Draft, and Wilson gets a fresh start outside of New York after three years of struggling in an unstable situation.
The idea of Wilson resurrecting his career in Denver feels a little bit far-fetched, but getting him with Sean Payton could end up being huge over time. Payton has done wonders for a number of quarterbacks who were discarded or thought to be "cooked", including some former high draft picks who would have been considered reclamation projects (Jameis Winston, Teddy Bridgewater).
Everybody approaches the offseason differently, especially the time between minicamp and training camp. A handful of Broncos players gathered at what's being labeled "Camp Stiddy", a week of bonding and throwing sessions hosted by Jarrett Stidham. Among those in attendance at this week of throwing sessions include Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix as well as some of the team's top playmakers: Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims, Jaleel McLaughlin, Adam Trautman, and others.
Notably absent from these throwing sessions was Zach Wilson. Everyone wondered aloud where he might be since getting that chemistry with his new receivers would seem to be important. For whatever reason, Wilson is training in his home state of Utah throwing to a Nebraska football commit...
Wilson is putting in work, which is great. But from a Broncos fan's perspective, it's hard to justify the fact that there is a team workout happening and Wilson isn't part of it.
It's the offseason so it's easy to overreact to stuff like this, but this kind of does feel like a big deal. Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham can show up to the throwing session together but Zach Wilson can't? Wilson might not get a ton of reps with the 1st-team offense throughout the course of training camp and the preseason, so wouldn't you think he would want to do anything he could to put the bug in the ears of guys like Tim Patrick and Courtland Sutton, two leaders on this team?
Again, Wilson is working out, which is great. It's not like he's sitting on his hands and hoping for the best. But given the fact that he's in a brand-new situation where he has a legitimate chance to make an impression, it's surprising that he would skip these throwing sessions. Not only that, but this group of guys has planned to take some time to get to know one another better through bonding and hanging out.
There's a stark contrast between guys like Stidham and Nix, who understand the importance of that, and Wilson, who seemingly doesn't. That may seem like a super harsh judgment on the guy, but the perception of Wilson is what it is at this point. He wasn't good enough to skate by on his talent alone in New York. Additional steps need to be taken to get better. If your teammates and best receivers are going to a throwing session, he's in a spot where he should absolutely be joining them, not working out on his own and throwing to high school players.
Even though the Stidham throwing sessions weren't team-sanctioned, it seems like it would have been super important for Wilson to be there with his teammates and he's not doing himself any favors by skipping and doing his own thing.
