The Focus of Miami Dolphins quarterback Zach Wilson’s Development Is Clear

Miami Dolphins backup quarterback Zach Wilson is no stranger to criticism. 

The former second overall pick by the New York Jets is one of the biggest busts in recent memory and was put through the wringer during his time in New York. However, Wilson is hearing different feedback from Dolphins’ coaches this offseason — he’s too late on throws. 

“It’s crazy because I’ve never been maybe told before at past places, ‘hey, you’re late,’” Wilson told reporters following Mandatory Minicamp on Wednesday. “Even with a strong arm, it’s not like, hey, you’re late on this throw or whatever.” 

“But here, it’s an entire step above. And again, for good reason. I mean, they want these balls out before our guys are getting to whatever their landmarks are because we’re throwing to space, and we have so much speed that you’re anticipating, I gotta trust this receiver is gonna be there.”

Taking Wilson’s quote at face value would likely leave most surprised. Wilson’s tape is filled with plays where he’s late through reads, but whether he’s heard that before or not isn’t what’s important. 

What’s important is that Wilson has never been asked to get rid of the ball this quickly before, and that could accelerate his development.

Anticipation is an essential skill for any quarterback in any scheme, but it’s at an absolute premium for the Dolphins’ offense under Coach Mike McDaniel. No team asks its quarterbacks to throw to spots more than Miami. 

They do this to maximize the skill set of Tua Tagovailoa and speedy receivers like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. It’s how the Dolphins can generate explosive plays despite not constantly pushing the ball deep downfield. 

For the offense to work, the quarterback must have 100% trust in his receivers and the offense. If the timing of the throw or the receiver’s route break is off by even a half-second, the play looks like a total miss. 

Bringing it back to Wilson, he still feels like he’s getting his feet under him as far as trusting the offense and getting on the same page with his receivers. 

“I think understanding how guys run a route is everything,” Wilson said. “I threw an interception yesterday because somebody came out a little bit flatter than I was anticipating, but I absolutely ripped it with conviction. The ball sailed over his head, but that’s kind of that trust factor of like, okay, now I know he’s gonna run that route a little bit flatter, and I still have to throw it in that timing.” 

“If I would have waited, maybe I still would have completed it, but that’s not what this offense is asking. It’s to throw it on time within the scheme so that these fast guys we have can catch it and get some yards after the catch.”

It doesn’t take a long watch of his tape to see that Wilson was not a strong anticipator when he was with the Jets. 

Wilson was addicted to holding the ball too long in New York. In 2022, Wilson’s 2.97-second time to throw ranked second among quarterbacks who had at least 200 dropbacks, finishing only behind Justin Fields. 

He ranked 10th in 2023, but his 2.80-second time to throw still paled in comparison to Tua’s 2.24-second time to throw. 

While that led to a lot of late throws, it also made Wilson a sack machine. In his three seasons in New York, Wilson took 113 sacks. For reference, Tagovailoa has taken 111 sacks in his entire career (64 games).

McDaniel is hoping the Dolphins’ strong edge rushing group — Chop Robinson, Bradley Chubb, and Jaelan Phillips — gives all the quarterbacks a taste of what happens when they hold the ball too long. 

“The best way to teach a quarterback how to play on time is to have edge rusher production in practice,” McDaniel said. “Because you’re like, ‘See? You’re dead here. Would you like not to be dead? All right, let’s play with timing.’ Those types of things are hugely impactful.”

The focus on improving Wilson’s anticipation and asking him to throw to spots should speed up his process a good bit. And because he needs to trust the offense absolutely, he won’t have time to second-guess himself.  

“I think truly trusting what they’re asking the quarterback position to do,” Wilson said. “You see Tua do it all the time, is that you almost need to kind of drop what happens on a play. You need to just say to yourself, okay, ‘I’m gonna throw this ball with absolute conviction. I don’t care what happens.’ I’m gonna trust they’re gonna be where they need to be, and I’ll learn from the mistakes.”

Playing quarterback like that all the time opens up its own set of problems, but it would undoubtedly be a good start for Wilson.

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