Wednesday means 11 days until the New Orleans Saints open their 2026 regular season.
New Orleans is on the road to kick off the year, playing at the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Wearing No. 11 for the Saints is Zach Wilson at quarterback. Picked up in free agency, Wilson is a high first round draft choice hoping to revive his career.
He's our most recent in our Saints Player of the Day feature.
No. 11: Zachary Wilson
- Name (age): Zachary Wilson (27)
- Hometown: Draper, Utah
- Position: Quarterback
- Height, weight: 6-foot-2, 214 pounds
- College: BYU Cougars
- Relative Athletic Score: n/a
- Drafted: Round 1, 2nd overall in 2021 (New York Jets)
- NFL career: 5 years
- 2026 salary cap hit: $1.27 million
Originally committing to Boise State out of Corner Canyon High School in Utah, Wilson flipped to Brigham Young University. He'd start seven games as a freshman in 2018, becoming the youngest quarterback to start for the Cougars. Wilson completed 65.9% of his throws that freshman season for 1,578 yards with 12 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. He was
the MVP of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl after completing all 18 of his passes for 317 yards and 4 scores.
In 2019, Wilson made nine starts for BYU with a 62.4% completion percentage for 2,382 yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He'd rebound with a strong campaign in 2020, starting all 12 contests and leading the Cougars to an 11-1 record. Wilson had a 73.5% completion percentage that season for 3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. Each of those numbers led all independent programs and earned Wilson 2020 Polynesian Player of the Year recognition.
Zach Wilson was the second overall choice in the 2021 NFL Draft behind only quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He was drafted by the New York Jets, where he'd start 13 games as a rookie. The Jets were just 3-10 in those outings, as Wilson had a completion percentage of 55.6% with 9 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and an average of 179.5 passing yards per game. He was only slightly better in 2022 with his nine starts, a 5-4 record, 54.5% completion percentage with 6 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and averaging 187.6 passing yards per contest.
In 2023, Wilson appeared in 12 games with 11 starts. His completion percentage (60.1%) was better, as was his average of 193.7 passing yards per start. He threw for 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, but the Jets had seen enough to believe Wilson could not turn around their abysmal franchise. During the 2024 offseason, the Jets traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth round draft choice. He was the third-string quarterback for Denver that season and would be released the following spring. Wilson was picked up by the Miami Dolphins, where he'd have 11 passing attempts in 2025 in backup duty.
Wilson was signed in free agency by the Saints this offseason. He competed with Spencer Rattler for backup duties behind Tyler Shough this preseason, with both quarterbacks being retained on the initial 53-man roster. Wilson showed in preseason what he has throughout his career; an athletic quarterback with a good arm who struggles to read defenses and has accuracy issues. Zach Wilson is hoping to follow the recent stories of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield as draft busts who revived their careers as backups to eventually have success with other teams.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Zach Wilson is the Saints Player of Day 11
