Mark Sanchez knows a thing or two about big expectations with the New York Jets and recently bestowed some advice to the next guy up to bat.
BYU thrower Zach Wilson is (presumably) about to step into cleats once occupied by Mark Sanchez, those of the New York Jets franchise quarterback role. As such, the passer-turned-ESPN analyst had some advice for his potential successor.
Joining The Colin Cowherd Podcast, Sanchez said that his one worry about Wilson is that he may try to overcomplicate things.
“My only fear with him was (he’s) a little too riverboat gambler when you don’t have to be,” Sanchez told Cowherd. “When it’s an easy just routine grounder to second, you just flip it to first base, don’t give me any around the back, you know, through the legs Harlem Globetrotters. Just get the guy out.”
Sanchez suggested that coming from a small conference might also pose a problem, one that might cause Wilson to put more pressure on himself.
“When that ball’s snapped, you might not know where that ball’s going, and that makes some coordinators uneasy. If you don’t need it, don’t use it. But if you have that trick shot in your bag, take it out when appropriate, and that’s going to be part of the learning curve for him. In addition to the speed of the game and all that kind of stuff you know, he’s coming (FBS Independents), he’s gonna have a lot to learn.”
(NOTE: A prior version of this article said that BYU was still in the Mountain West Conference. BYU has been an independent team since 2011. The error has been corrected.)
“He’s going to be in a very different media market, you’re gonna have to stack all those things, and there’s gonna be a learning curve for each of those categories, whether it’s media or the on-the-field stuff.”
Alas for Sanchez, he is all too familiar with a New York dream becoming a nightmare. His tenure began with consecutive trips to the AFC title game but fell apart shortly after.
Should the Jets draft Wilson, or any other quarterback with the second overall in the NFL draft on April 29 (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/NFL Network), he would be the third high-profile draftee taken by the Jets, following the choices of Geno Smith and Sam Darnold in 2013 and 2018.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
