Can Zach Wilson start for Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos?

Missed Opportunities

The other area Wilson struggles is missed opportunities.

I expected Wilson’s lone strength to be hitting open receivers on deep balls. That’s what made him a great prospect. But the lack of production when a receiver gets open downfield is the single largest red flag in Wilson’s game in 2024.

This should have been a touchdown…

This should have been layered between the cornerback and the safety for a chunk gain…

This should have been a massive gain and maybe a touchdown…

This should have been a chunk gain but the ball was behind the receiver…

Now we’re into some throws where Wilson didn’t see the open receiver.

This should have been another big gain on a crosser…

Wilson had his tight end up the sideline on a wheel route…

Now we’re into the red zone.

Pat Surtain II may have recovered and broken this pass up, but Wilson left the ball behind his receiver so he didn’t even have a chance to make the play…

Wilson does well to extend the play (nobody was open) but leaves the throw low instead of scoring the touchdown…

This time, Wilson has a receiver wide open in the end zone thanks to a busted coverage…

This time, he has a receiver breaking wide open on a corner route, but takes the curl instead…

Occasionally, his receivers bailed him out.

This time, he underthrows a potential touchdown, but his receiver fights back and makes the play…

Against the Broncos, he left a ball behind a crossing receiver and blew a catch-and-run opportunity…

That’s a dozen missed opportunities in a three-game sample size. It’s not good enough.

These 12 plays are the difference between alright football and really good quarterbacking. If Wilson had converted them consistently the narrative surrounding him would be very different.

But he misses these throws and, to me, that’s his biggest flaw as a passer in 2024.

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