When the Jets called Zach Wilson to officially select him on Thursday night, head coach Robert Saleh told the young QB, “This organization is going to lift you, not the other way around.”
Being the latest Jets draftee attempting to become a franchise quarterback comes with a unique set of pressures. But during his introductory press conference on Friday, Wilson said what Saleh told him helped to alleviate some of them.
“I think that’s what’s so cool, why I like coach Saleh so much is he genuinely understands that football is such a team game,” Wilson said, via video from SNY. “There’s a 53-man roster and it take every single piece to make this thing go ‘round. One guy is not going to do it on his own. That’s what’s so special about this team is that they’ve put together such a great plan. And I can rely on all the dudes around me. I can’t wait to get to know them and everything that they have, and I know these guys are putting in energy and time every single day. So I can’t wait to get with them and that’s what’s going to make it all work.”
Saleh may have made Wilson feel better with that message about the organization lifting him. And the Jets helped set up Wilson for success by trading up to draft Alijah Vera-Tucker on Thursday night. But Wilson, Saleh, and the rest of the Jets have plenty of work to do to turn the club into a contender.