Zach Wilson has a chance to join an exclusive club featuring some of the best quarterbacks of all time if he and the Jets make the postseason this year.
Only 13 other quarterbacks with seven or more rookie starts have made the playoffs since 1983. That includes the legendary Dan Marino and current NFL stars Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson. Although the Jets are postseason longshots, there is a path for Wilson if he and the team develop nicely in Robert Saleh’s first season.
Wilson is obviously the biggest factor, but the rest of the Jets will have to be better than expected as well. Six of the quarterbacks on this list were on teams that ranked in the top-10 in rushing offense, points allowed and yards allowed, and only two quarterbacks on the list played on teams who ranked outside the top-10 in all three statistics.
Up against that pattern, the Jets’ chances don’t look great given how they performed last year. New York finished the season ranked 31st, 24th and 26th in rushing yards, points allowed and yards, respectively. While the roster is vastly improved, it’s hard to imagine Saleh can turn a two-win team from 2020 into a playoff-caliber squad in just one season with a rookie quarterback.
If Wilson does make the postseason, he’ll be the first rookie to do so since Jackson did it with the Ravens in 2018. Wilson would be the first Jets rookie quarterback to make the playoffs since Mark Sanchez – and Rex Ryan’s top-ranked defense – led Gang Green to the AFC Championship game in 2009.
With all that in mind, here is a look at the 13 quarterbacks who took their teams to the playoffs as rookies.