by Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III he went on a long rant about his thoughts on it Jet general Zach WilsonHis current offensive struggles that led to him being benched this weekend.
In Wilson’s seven starts so far this season, he has completed just 105 passes out of 189 attempts and has totaled four touchdown passes and five interceptions. He has led the Jets to a 5–2 record in his starts.
Griffin noted that another current NFL quarterback has posted similar statistics, but received “adoration” instead of criticism like Wilson. This general is Commanders‘ Taylor Heinickewho has started five games while starter Carson Wentz is out.
Heinicke completed 90 of 148 pass attempts for five touchdowns and four interceptions. In five games, he led the team to a 4-1 record.
Griffin said the main difference between these two quarterbacks is that Wilson was the second overall pick in last year’s draft, so there’s more pressure on him to perform, while Heinicke was an undrafted player and the expectations on him aren’t so high.
The former quarterback posted a nine-tweet thread on Wednesday, which you can read in full here. At one point he pointed out the major difference in the narratives about the two quarters.
“While [coach Robert] Saleh gets benched by Wilson for foul play, [coach] Ron Rivera said Heinicke doesn’t need to play well to keep the job because the whole team plays better when he’s starting even if he’s not. Griffin said. “You NEVER HEAR THAT IN THE NFL. Only the win matters to Heinicke but not Wilson.
“Wilson gets no credit from Saleh for the play of the Jet defense, but Heinicke gets credit from Rivera for the play of the entire Washington team.” Griffin continued. “Rivera’s like, ‘There’s just something special about Taylor Heinik,’ and everybody else is like, ‘What’s up with Zach Wilson?’
Griffin even added stats to show how the two quarterbacks aren’t performing that differently, even though the narratives surrounding them are vastly different.
“Heinicke gets credit for beating the Eagles despite completing 58.6% of his passes with int[erception] and a 66.9 QB rating,” wrote Griffin. “You can dislike Wilson’s game and his postgame comments and still understand the difference in reaction to a QB with similar results.
“High Draft picks get more scrutiny, that’s just the reality.” Griffin continued. “Whether you think this difference is justified or not is up to you. I would argue that Wilson should be given more time to figure it out because he was a high draft pick and he’s 5-2 as a starter.”
And, Wilson will have a little more time to prove his potential after his benching ends. It is unknown when the quarterback will return, but Saleh noted that his time at the club is “not over”.
More NFL coverage:
For more New York Jets coverage, go to Jets country.
