Day 7 of Jets’ training camp may have been the team’s best, especially for the leader of the group.
QB Zach Wilson had himself a fantastic day of practice Wednesday, as noted by both Zach Rosenblatt of The Athletic and Ethan Greenberg of the Jets’ official team website.
“Wilson didn’t have any particularly eye-opening throws, but none of his passes hit the ground, either,” Rosenblatt wrote. “He completed all eight of his passes in team drills on Wednesday, his most efficient passing day of camp without any noticeable mistakes. It was his second straight productive practice after a few in a row that were less successful.”
Wilson also threw two red-zone touchdowns Wednesday, one to TE Tyler Conklin and one to WR Elijah Moore.
“I think where a lot of times things sometimes get skewed is down in the red zone, which is always the hardest part for a quarterback because things happen faster, especially for a young man,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “I think the highlight today would be in the red zone where I thought he operated fast. Everything is faster down there. A lot of times he’s having a really nice day and then we get into the red zone and then he hits a lull.
“Yesterday, he moved the ball, gets the red zone (but didn’t score]. It’s those red-zone periods that have been the sticking point for him. Today, he was fast, he was deliberate, he got rid of the ball. He got to his second read on the one to Elijah Moore. Thought he did a really nice job.”
Wednesday’s practice also included a pause after their usual six-minute pause (simulating halftime) called by Saleh for what he called “kind of a lag” after a slow start to the “second half”.
“In special teams, the first five minutes, there was kind of a lag,” Saleh said. “Credit to the guys, they picked it up themselves. Just a reminder why we’re doing what we’re doing and the expectation of when we come out of the locker room. A lot of games are lost just by coming out of the locker room with that slight lull. I thought the guys did a great job responding. The entire practice was really good except for that one-minute lapse.”
On the injury front, RB Michael Carter returned as a full participant Wednesday after being limited Tuesday with an ankle injury. RB Ty Johnson missed practice with a hamstring injury.
Kicker Greg Zuerlein also missed Wednesday with a toe injury, but should be good to go for Saturday’s Green and White scrimmage, notes Rosenblatt. Eddy Pineiro went 3/4 Wednesday (made two from 50-plus, one from 40-plus, missed from 55). Rosenblatt notes Zuerlein remains the favorite to win the job.
