Sean Payton should name Zach Wilson as the Broncos backup QB

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton should make a surprise move this week and name Zach Wilson his backup QB.

Many think that role will go to Jarrett Stidham, but on a conference call on Monday morning, Payton declined to make anything official.

“I’ll settle it and keep you guys posted,” a terse Payton told the media.

Payton’s spent a lot of this summer “keeping us posted,” but the fact he’s still thinking about it should be encouraging for the Wilson fans out there. He did enough in the preseason to make Payton pause, wondering if the former No. 2 overall pick should slot in front of veteran Jarrett Stidham.

And it’s actually kind of funny Stidham is constantly referred to as the “veteran” in the Broncos QB room. He’s started four career games in the NFL. Wilson has started 33. Experience wise, Wilson is the veteran and runs circles around Stidham.

Look, it’s not Wilson’s fault he was drafted by the New York Jets. It’s where successful college quarterbacks go to fail. He certainly wasn’t the first and won’t be the last to not live up to expectations in America’s most famous city.

Wilson showed against both the Colts and Cardinals this preseason he can still move the football. In Indy, Wilson finished 10-13 for 117 yards, didn’t take a sack and didn’t throw an interception. Against Arizona, Wilson looked great. His numbers backed up his big day, going 16-25 for 251 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball two times for 22 yards and another TD.

Ask yourself this, if for whatever reason the Broncos are down this season and rookie starter Bo Nix gets banged up, which QB gives them the best chance to rally?

It sure as heck isn’t Stidham.

He showed last year he plays boring football with a major lack of explosive plays.

In his two starts against the Chargers and Raiders, Stidham was pedestrian. He threw for fewer than 500 total yards, had two touchdowns and the one interception. Denver scored 30 points, or 15 per game. One of Stidham’s two TDs was created by a phenomenal catch and run from Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

Stidham was billed as a “spark” by Sean Payton because he didn’t like Russell Wilson and was simply the next guy up. Not because he’s capable of putting up big offensive numbers on an NFL field.

On the other hand, Zach Wilson is still brimming with potential. You don’t get taken second out of every player in a draft unless you possess crazy raw talent. Yes, he might make a mistake or two, but Wilson can move the football. Heck, GM George Paton said last week Wilson has possibly the best arm in the NFL.

“He can throw it as good as anyone in the league,” Paton said. “He’s smart and he’s a great kid. He has starter traits all over. I do think he will be a starter (again) in this league.”

Come on now. That’s massive praise from a GM to throw on a quarterback. Does that sound like a third-string QB to you? I didn’t think so.

And we know Payton loves Wilson as well, as he told his former backup QB Chase Daniel during training camp. Again, you don’t hear the guys in charge talk like this unless they think they have a special player on their hands.

“My job is to make you millions, whether with us or another team. His last two weeks have been outstanding,” Payton told Daniel.

Mind you, this was before the Cardinals game, where Wilson balled out. If the head coach and general manager both feel a certain way, let’s stop delaying the inevitable.

Zach Wilson should be the Broncos backup QB against the Seahawks and for the entire season. The future is Nix, but if anything unfortunate happens, Wilson can keep Denver in games.

Let’s hope Payton realizes that, and shares some good news about his quarterback depth chart later this week.