Zach Wilson and The Worst Passer Rating In The NFL

by Chase Stuart on December 30, 2022

When the Jets drafted Zach Wilson, the hope was that the kid from BYU would end a long line of Jets draft busts. Because after having their hopes dashed by Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, and then Sam Darnold, the Jets were due for some good luck. Right?

The Jets selected the 2nd QB in the 2009, 2013, and 2018 Drafts.

Through 3 years, Mark Sanchez had the worst passer rating of any QB.

Through 3 years, Geno Smith had the worst passer rating of any QB.

Through 3 years, Sam Darnold has the worst passer rating of any QB. pic.twitter.com/SpRoOVZ9lj

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) October 5, 2020

Yes, from 2009 to 2011, Sanchez had the worst passer rating in the NFL. And from ’13 to ’15, Smith’s 72.3 passer rating was the only rating in the 70s among all passers with at least 700 attempts. When the Jets drafted Darnold, the hope was “third time’s the charm.” Instead, it was a third straight highly touted quarterback prospect — taken as the second quarterback in his draft — who had the lowest passer rating in the NFL after three years.

So the Jets once again hit the reset button on the franchise quarterback game of life. Again, the Jets would have their pick of all quarterbacks in the draft but one: this time it was not Matthew Stafford or EJ Manuel or Baker Mayfield that the Jets were missing out on, but Trevor Lawrence. And surely, certainly, the results couldn’t be that bad again.

Right?

Well, no, they didn’t get the same result. Somehow, it got even worse. As a rookie, the three Jets ghosts of quarterbacks past had some success: Sanchez and the Jets made the playoffs, Smith’s Jets finished 8-8 and he tied for the NFL lead with five game-winning fourth quarter drives, and Darnold — as a 21-year-old rookie — had a red hot finish to the season. Wilson? He didn’t wait for the 3-year average; he quickly posted the lowest passer rating in the NFL. More concerning, he looked worse than his unheralded quarterback teammates. Wilson took 65% of the Jets dropbacks, but he had just 59% of the passing yards, 45% of the passing touchdowns, and took 83% of the sacks.

As a follow-up to that rookie campaign, it had to get better, right? The Jets surrounded Wilson with a strong supporting cast this year, and he responded with… another season with the worst passer rating in the NFL. He has been benched twice. He completed an anemic 54.5% of his passes, giving him the two worst completion percentage seasons of any quarterback the last four seasons. He is far below average in touchdown rate, interception rate, and sack rate. Wilson’s only positive stat is his yards per completion average, which was heavily influence by some great YAC by his teammates (he ranks 3rd in the NFL in YAC per completion, at 6.1; this pass to Breece Hall went for 79 yards).

And so the Jets are now in the unfathomable position of having the quarterback with the lowest passer rating in the NFL for the third straight season, and the fifth time in 10 years.

Year	Team	Quarterback	Passer Rating
2022	NYJ	Zach Wilson	72.8
2021	NYJ	Zach Wilson	69.7
2020	NYJ	Sam Darnold	72.7
2019	CIN	Andy Dalton	78.3
2018	ARI	Josh Rosen	66.7
2017	CLE	DeShone Kizer	60.5
2016	NYJ	Ryan Fitzpatrick	69.6
2015	DEN	Peyton Manning	67.9
2014	JAX	Blake Bortles	69.5
2013	NYJ	Geno Smith	66.5
2012	KAN	Matt Cassel	66.7
2011	JAX	Blaine Gabbert	65.4
2010	CAR	Jimmy Clausen	58.4
2009	OAK	JaMarcus Russell	50
2008	CLE	Derek Anderson	66.5
2007	NYJ	Kellen Clemens	60.9
2006	OAK	Andrew Walter	55.8
2005	CHI	Kyle Orton	59.7
2004	MIA	A.J. Feeley	61.7
2003	CHI	Kordell Stewart	56.8
2002	DET	Joey Harrington	59.9
2001	CIN	Jon Kitna	61.1
2000	CIN	Akili Smith	52.8
1999	ARI	Jake Plummer	50.8
1998	SDG	Ryan Leaf	39
1997	CAR	Kerry Collins	55.7
1996	SEA	Rick Mirer	56.6
1995	TAM	Trent Dilfer	60.1
1994	WAS	Heath Shuler	59.6
1993	WAS	Mark Rypien	56.3
1992	SEA	Stan Gelbaugh	52.9
1991	2TM	Jeff Kemp	55.7
1990	NWE	Marc Wilson	61.6
1989	DAL	Troy Aikman	55.7
1988	TAM	Vinny Testaverde	48.8
1987	PIT	Mark Malone	46.7
1986	IND	Jack Trudeau	53.5
1985	BUF	Vince Ferragamo	50.8
1984	KAN	Todd Blackledge	59.2
1983	NYG	Scott Brunner	54.3
1982	BUF	Joe Ferguson	56.3
1981	CHI	Vince Evans	51.1
1980	NYG	Phil Simms	58.9
1979	TAM	Doug Williams	52.5
1978	SFO	Steve DeBerg	40
1977	NYG	Joe Pisarcik	42.3
1976	BUF	Gary Marangi	30.8
1975	NOR	Archie Manning	44.3
1974	CLE	Mike Phipps	46.7
1973	NYG	Norm Snead	45.8
1972	NWE	Jim Plunkett	45.7
1971	CHI	Bobby Douglass	37
1970	PIT	Terry Bradshaw	30.4
1969	BUF	Jack Kemp	53.2
1969	PIT	Dick Shiner	60.3
1968	BUF	Dan Darragh	33
1968	PHI	Norm Snead	51.8
1967	HOU	Pete Beathard	44.2
1967	ATL	Randy Johnson	47.8
1966	MIA	Dick Wood	30.6
1966	ATL	Randy Johnson	47.8
1965	DEN	John McCormick	43.5
1965	DET	Milt Plum	51.2
1964	BUF	Jack Kemp	50.9
1964	NYG	Y.A. Tittle	51.6
1963	BOS	Babe Parilli	52.1
1963	WAS	Norm Snead	58.1
1962	OAK	Cotton Davidson	36.1
1962	PIT	Bobby Layne	56.2
1961	DEN	George Herring	30
1961	WAS	Norm Snead	51.6
1960	BUF	Johnny Green	54.1
1960	CHI	Zeke Bratkowski	40.4
1959	CRD	King Hill	46.2
1958	CHI	Ed Brown	51
1957	CHI	Ed Brown	44.4
1956	PIT	Ted Marchibroda	49.4
1955	CRD	Lamar McHan	34.8
1954	CRD	Lamar McHan	32.4
1953	GNB	Tobin Rote	32.4
1952	DTX	Frank Tripucka	27.8
1951	PHI	Adrian Burk	44.5
1950	GNB	Tobin Rote	26.7

More remarkably, unless Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett has an ugly finish to the season, Wilson is about to be the first quarterback since 1970 to post multiple seasons with the worst passer rating in the NFL! And he’s doing it in consecutive seasons, giving him Zach-to-Zach titles.

The last quarterback to finish with the worst passer rating in the NFL in multiple years was Norm Snead, who did it in 1973, and in the pre-merger NFL seasons of 1968 and 1961.

Tagged as: Jets, Zach Wilson

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