Reporter shares bleak outlook for Broncos' Zach Wilson

It was suggested last week that former New York Jets flop Zach Wilson had a legitimate chance to win the Denver Broncos' Week 1 starting QB job this summer over rookie Bo Nix and journeyman Jarrett Stidham.

For a piece published Monday, ESPN's Dan Graziano shared a far more pessimistic outlook regarding Wilson's short-term future with the Broncos.

"You can place Zach Wilson as a clear No. 3 in this race right now, based on everything I've heard," Graziano explained. "He obviously has high-end talent and could theoretically show enough in camp to move up, but he never really did that in three years with the Jets and so far doesn't seem to have impressed anyone very much in Denver."

The Jets made Wilson the second overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft and then played him as a rookie admittedly before he was fully ready to face live defenses in meaningful games.

The 24-year-old was benched multiple times during the 2022 season before he was replaced atop New York's depth chart by Aaron Rodgers in April 2023.

Wilson then failed to impress as New York's temporary QB1 after Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles last September, and New York ultimately traded Wilson to Denver earlier this offseason.

According to Pro Football Reference stats, Wilson finished the 2023 season ranked last in the NFL among qualified players with a 30.6 adjusted QBR, 30th with a 77.2 passer rating, tied for last with a 36.5 percent passing success rate and 30th with a 60.1 percent completion percentage. Across 12 games (11 starts), he tossed eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

Denver previously declined to pick up the fifth-year option attached to Wilson's rookie contract, and Graziano predicted that Broncos head coach Sean Payton will start Nix over Stidham for the club's regular-season opener at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8.

"Nix -- who threw 45 touchdown passes and three interceptions at Oregon last season -- would have to look completely overwhelmed in camp and preseason games to lose out to Stidham in this competition," Graziano mentioned.

It's unclear where that leaves Wilson, as it sounds like there's little chance he'll play in a meaningful game anytime soon unless both Nix and Stidham are sidelined with injuries.