Denver Broncos new signal-caller and former first-round draft pick Zach Wilson has been turning heads during his short tenure in the Mile High City. The former second overall selection from the 2021 NFL Draft from BYU has never lived up to the expectations placed upon him early in his career.

After the New York Jets decided to part ways and ultimately traded him to the Broncos in April 2024, the 25-year-old has put on a show for his new football team.

In the Broncos’ last preseason game versus the Arizona Cardinals, Wilson finished the game going 16/25 for 251 passing yards and three total touchdowns. He registered a 123.9 passer rating and did not turn the football over.

What really impressed fans was his ability to remain poised and accurate while in the pocket, something that he rarely accomplished during his Jets tenure. This mainly was due to the lackluster offensive line and having no time to throw the football.

Pairing Wilson with an offensive-minded head coach in Sean Payton really has worked wonders in the preseason, and the hope is that it continues. Payton knows how to coach quarterbacks and utilize their strengths to make them the best versions of themselves. Wilson’s recent preseason success is not a fluke and excitement should be arriving as the Broncos organization has a suitable backup quarterback under new starter Bo Nix.

Sometimes a change of scenery can benefit a football player and we are seeing first-hand that Wilson may be experiencing just that. Before joining the Broncos this offseason, Wilson played in three NFL season and his statistics were all over the place, a very inconsistent football player.

Wilson played in 34 games and had a 12-21 record. He went 566/993 for 6,293 total passing yards and 23 touchdowns to 25 interceptions, a career 73.2 passer rating. On the ground, he rushed on 36 attempts for 211 yards and fumbled 11 times during his time with the Jets, losing seven of the fumbles.

While it is only preseason action and the starters are resting, there are serious improvements to Wilson’s game that cannot go unnoticed. The hope is that the former second overall pick can turn the ship around and once again get an opportunity to be a starter in the league. We will have to wait and see what unfolds, but being on a new team certainly looks like it has benefitted him greatly.