Zach Wilson knows career turnaround is all about consistency

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Zach Wilson knows that he must be what he hasn’t been through the first three years of his NFL career: consistently effective.

“I need to be consistent every single day,” he said after Thursday’s OTA at Centura Health Training Center. “Understanding the offense, understanding what I’m asked to do, taking care of the football and how quickly I can get the ball out of my hands to some of the playmakers that we have, too.”

Wilson’s work Thursday was not unfamiliar to those who have watched his body of work in three seasons as New York Jets quarterback. He throws the football with ample velocity; the arm strength — or “arm talent,” as those who don’t consider accuracy to be part of “talent” like to maintain — is not in question.

“I like his experience,” Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “You can tell he’s played, and I feel like he has very live arm strength. He’s picking up the offense pretty quickly.”

But there were some frustrating moments under duress as he worked with the No. 3 offense. Wilson saw work with the first team Wednesday.

“I feel like you learn the most when things are not going the best,” he said. “You bank those reps, and you learn from them. In three years of things being challenging, you’re going to learn a lot of things. Hopefully I can keep carrying those [lessons] with me.”

SO, WHAT COMES NEXT IF THE BRONCOS AND PAYTON CAN’T FIX ZACH WILSON?

Denver probably isn’t the last stop for Zach Wilson in his NFL career. But it could be his final chance to show that he can be a starter — even though the deck might appear stacked against him after the Broncos used a first-round pick on Bo Nix last month.

There is a level of intrigue to Wilson that has caught eyes elsewhere.

“I’m interested to see Zach Wilson,” longtime NFL analyst and Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms said on the “>Unbuttoned podcast where he joined his son, NBC Sports football analyst Chris Simms.

“Yeah, he’s not Sean Payton’s kind of guy. So that’ll be interesting if he has a little flavor just for him. If Sean Payton doesn’t fix him, Zach, have a good life.”

Phil Simms, on his son Chris’ Unbuttoned podcast, brings up Zach Wilson: “I’m interested to see Zach Wilson. Now, he’s not Sean Payton’s kind of guy. So, it’ll be interesting if he has a little flavor just for him. If Sean Payton doesn’t fix him, Zach, have a good life.” pic.twitter.com/MPNyaA1on9

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) May 22, 2024

That might be a bit harsh. But if Zach Wilson can’t get things turned around in the midst of the Broncos’ three-way competition to be their No. 1 quarterback for 2024, the best that Wilson might find is a chance to be backup.

For the moment, Wilson receives first-team repetitions every third practice. Now, he must maximize them.