Sean Payton says Zach Wilson ‘absolutely’ can win back starting job despite benching, won’t happen overnight

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The NFL can be very quick to move on at the quarterback position. 

The New York Jets are the prime example, drafting Sam Darnold with the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, only to move on from Darnold three years later by drafting Zach Wilson with the second overall pick of the 2021 draft. 

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, #2, reacts against the Chicago Bears during an NFL football game, Nov. 27, 2022, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Wilson is moving up on the New York Jets' quarterback depth chart this week. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Wilson now finds himself in a situation not dissimilar from the one Darnold was in when the Jets drafted the quarterback out of BYU, as former fifth-round draft pick Mike White has gained the respect of the locker room over the past three weeks. 

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Unlike Darnold, Wilson appears to have the opportunity to win back his job after being named the backup quarterback by head coach Robert Saleh on Wednesday. 

It will be a major challenge for Wilson who has been inactive in each of New York's last three games as White has earned praise from his teammates through his on-field performance and willingness to play through pain. 

However, Sean Payton, former New Orleans Saints head coach and current NFL analyst for FOX, is not giving up on Wilson’s career in New York just yet. 

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, #2, throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

"This season might be a little bit more challenging," Payton told Fox News Digital when asked if Wilson can become the starter in New York again. "Although, we’re reminded always like an injury away from everyone's going to be looking right at you. ‘Hey, here we go.’ And so I think it's not just a quarterback that we see that. It's a lot more noticeable because there's only one. But we've seen a ton of other players who've come in as high draft picks. I've had other players where they hadn't performed as well as we had hoped early on. A player on the roster beat them out.

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"Do I think he can eventually earn that job? Absolutely I think he can," Peyton continued. "But he's not going to be able to do it today or tomorrow. But it's going to be a series of days, brick by brick, working on being the best teammate, but also working on the skill set. Because ultimately it's a production position. Ultimately, the respect of your players, the respect of your peers and your teammates, that's going to come when they've seen, and you've seen you can do it on a regular basis."

With White limited during practice this week due to a rib injury sustained against the Buffalo Bills, Wilson is now one play away from once again being under center for the Jets. 

For Payton, who was a quarterback coach in the NFL for eight years before becoming the head coach of the Saints in 2006, it’s all capitalizing when the opportunity presents itself. 

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 9, 2022 in Atlanta. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

"When you're preparing to be the two, you're preparing to be the one," Payton said of Wilson. "And the last thing he wants is that game on the line moment where he enters the game again because of an injury, and he's not able to at least perform to the standard that's been set. 

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"We're quick to forgive and forget in our league. And he would be no different."  

Payton has been away from the sidelines since the end of last season, choosing to step away from coaching following the conclusion of a 9-8 season in New Orleans. 

However, he is still heavily involved in the game of football, working for Fox and continuing his partnership with Zebra Technologies, which is in its ninth season as the official on-field player tracking provider for the NFL. 

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Payton and the Saints were one of the first teams to use Zebra’s tracking systems in practice. 

"I think tracking just the player movement in the field for me during training camp or heavy practice schedules was important," Payton told Fox News Digital when discussing Zebra Technologies. "And then, the second element, obviously the entertainment value it brings when we’re watching games. 

Sean Payton, former head coach of the New Orleans Saints, looks on during the third quarter of an NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Oct. 25, 2022 in New Orleans. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

"We see a punt return for a touchdown, or we see Tyreek Hill score on a deep post route. But then all of a sudden the number comes up, he was going 21.8 miles an hour. So, instead of saying ‘He was fast … [You can say] He was fastest of the weekend.’" 

Payton also sees the technology being used to assist referees in making some of the calls that have been challenging over the past several years.