In terms of quarterback career revivals, we are in the midst of a golden era in the NFL of former high draft picks getting another chance and becoming stars with a team other than the one who drafted them.
Every year seems to bring another example.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield brought his career back to life in 2024. Current Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold did it with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.
The latest — and maybe greatest — to do it is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who has his team off to a 3-1 start in 2025 after he flamed out with the New York Giants, where he was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
All 3 Top 10 picks in the NFL draft. All 3 hitting it big and doing so not on the teams that drafted them.
It begs the question — who will it be in 2026?
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski thinks that player could be former Denver Broncos quarterback and current Miami Dolphins backup quarterback Zach Wilson.
Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, was selected by the New York Jets and is on his third team after spending one season as a backup for the Broncos in 2024.
He signed a 1-year, $6 million contract with the Dolphins in March.
“On the surface, the chance to join the Miami Dolphins looked like an excellent opportunity,” Sobleski wrote on September 27. “Though an 0-3 start with Mike McDaniel’s seat heating up and starter Tua Tagovailoa being questioned at every turn has the makings of a combustible situation. Even so, Wilson has already grown from the 21-year-old old quarterback who entered the NFL as the second overall pick in the 2021 draft class … Wilson could easily find a way into a lineup again and possibly show the natural ability that originally made him a top-three draft pick.”
History Says Wilson Will Likely Start This Season
During training camp, Sobleski called Wilson “the NFL’s most important backup quarterback” headed into 2025.
“Zach Wilson may be the most important backup in the NFL considering who he is backing up this season,” Sobleski wrote on August 28. “Tua Tagovailoa’s injury history, specifically concussions, is well-documented. The Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback has played a full regular-season slate only once during his five-year career.”
There is no quarterback in the NFL who seems more prone to injury than Tagovailoa due to his history of taking hits to the head — a history many think should have already ended his NFL career and one that seems to indicate the Dolphins will need Wilson to step into the starting lineup at some point this season.
Broncos Obtained Wilson in 2024 Trade
If Wilson does one day ascend to becoming a full time NFL starter, he can credit his time in Denver and with head coach Sean Payton for jump starting that process.
Wilson was traded to the Broncos in April 2024 after 3 season with the Jets in which he, at one point, seemed like one of the franchise’s more reviled players in recent memory.
After the Broncos got Wilson and a 2024 seventh round pick in exchange for a 2024 sixth round pick, Wilson was allowed to spend the next year learning a complex offense and refurbishing his image as a dutiful backup behind Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham.
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