Will Zach Wilson be featured prominently in ‘Hard Knocks’?
When the New York Jets report for training camp on Wednesday, HBO’s “Hard Knocks” will be right there.
The NFL officially announced Monday the Jets organization has been selected to be this year’s subject for the popular HBO series, a development the Deseret News reported last week.
The first one-hour episode will air Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 8 p.m. MDT on HBO and will be available on Max. There will be four additional episodes, all airing at the same time on Tuesdays, leading up to the season finale on Sept. 5.
Several news outlets believe one of the team’s most polarizing figures — and a household name quarterback — could be in the spotlight during the series.
No, not four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Instead, it’s embattled backup quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft who struggled mightily in his first two NFL seasons.
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Sportscaster Dan Patrick suggested that Wilson should be the focus of the series.
“With Aaron Rodgers, I don’t know if he wants the publicity,” Patrick said during a recent taping of the “The Dan Patrick Show.” “I think he likes publicity, but he likes it when he likes it, when he wants it. When you want it, then maybe he’s not as accommodating.”
The Jets traded for the 10-time Pro Bowler Rodgers this offseason, a move made after poor quarterback play plagued the team last season as New York dropped its final six games of the 2022 season after a promising start to the year.
Patrick suggested the show should instead be centered around Wilson, for a variety of reasons.
“I think Zach Wilson should be the focal point of the Jets with ‘Hard Knocks.’ Because OK, now you’ve taken away the marquee guys, the starters and you can focus on an interesting story of No. 2 overall pick, got humbled, got benched, now all of a sudden, he’s watching Aaron Rodgers, learning from Aaron Rodgers. Is Aaron Rodgers going to help him?” Patrick asked.
“That would be interesting.”
Justin Fried of The Jet Press agreed that the Wilson storyline should be a featured aspect of this year’s “Hard Knocks” show. Wilson, the former BYU and Corner Canyon High quarterback, is expected to get ample time to shine in preseason games with the veteran Rodgers resting to avoid injury.
“The NFL Films crew will no doubt highlight the fact that Wilson will now be serving as the primary backup to his mentor, Aaron Rodgers. Prepare for plenty of Rodgers/Wilson content this summer,” Fried wrote.
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“... Wilson has said all the right things this offseason. He’s been humble and expressed a desire to bounce back following a disastrous first two years in the NFL. That attitude should serve him well as he hopes to be portrayed in a positive light to a national audience.”
Wilson has expressed appreciation for the short time he’s already had to work alongside Rodgers.
“I’m very appreciative of him and how much he is willing to help me because he really doesn’t need to be that vocal. He honestly truly is an amazing friend, and obviously such an amazing quarterback, so I am learning a lot of football,” Wilson told reporters in June, per NFL.com.
Another Jets-centric news organization, Jets X-Factor, suggested that Wilson shouldn’t be a major feature during the show, though. That’s given the struggles the young quarterback has had, leading to his benching after being deemed the franchise quarterback just two years ago.
“Don’t believe any of the hype that might come out about Wilson in training camp. First of all, he’s often looked good in the past without a pass rush,” Jets X-Factor’s Rivka Boord wrote. “Second, even media reports claiming that he made a ‘great’ throw almost always ignore his horrible mechanics and shoddy accuracy on that particular toss.
“... The Hard Knocks cameras are almost certain to hype up the Rodgers/Wilson narrative. Don’t believe any of it. It’s a made-for-TV story of the usurped draft pick, but Wilson is stuck in New York, and he knows it.”
