Jets QB Zach Wilson can learn from Solomon Thomas' NFL journey as top draft pick
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson might be able to learn a thing or two from teammate Solomon Thomas. Credit: Lee S. Weissman; Jim McIsaac
Solomon Thomas did some pretty good things during his three healthy years in San Francisco. He had 6.0 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, 16 tackles for a loss, and was part of the franchise’s sudden about-face from last-place duds when he arrived in 2017 to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019 season.
None of it, though, was enough to live up to the weight he carried as his NFL birthmark.
He wasn’t known there as “defensive lineman Solomon Thomas” or even “locker room tone-setter Solomon Thomas,” both of which he now gladly goes by as a member of the Jets. Instead, he was stamped “third overall pick Solomon Thomas” because of where he was taken in the draft.
That title never suited him.
“I didn’t really understand and know how to handle the pressure when I was young and came into the league,” Thomas told Newsday on Thursday, “Now I have a better understanding of it. I got a lot of help, through therapy, through wellness coaches, through mental approach coaches. I’ve learned how to approach it and handle pressure, not let pressure ride me but let me control the pressure. That definitely has made a big difference.
“The biggest change was me believing in myself and saying: ‘Screw it.’ Just bet on myself and go ball.’”
The change of scenery helped too. After missing all of his fourth and final season in San Francisco with a torn ACL, he spent a year with the Raiders and then signed with the Jets.
“Sometimes it goes with narrative and expectation,” said Jets coach Robert Saleh, who was the Niners’ defensive coordinator during Thomas’ time there. “You’re the third pick, so you’re expected to do something. But then you get an opportunity somewhere else and now that expectation is gone and you’re appreciated for the style of play that you actually bring.”
Any of this sound vaguely familiar?
There’s a valuable lesson to learn from Thomas’ experience that goes beyond football for many folks in various walks of life, but the message hasn’t had to travel very far to reach the particular set of ears that resides in the locker right next to Thomas’ as the team facility, the ones that belong to another player whose shortcomings are often measured not against his talents but magnified by the slot in which he was drafted.
Yes, third-overall pick Solomon Thomas and second-overall pick Zach Wilson have had this very discussion. Many times, in fact.
“Last year we were talking every week about this stuff and I was trying to keep him up, keep him positive,” Thomas said. “This year I haven’t had to talk to him that much because his mind is in the right place and he has matured and grown. We’ll still have talks but he’s in the right place and I’m excited for his career.”
Thomas had to come to the Jets to find the kind of success he is experiencing this season with a career-high 4.0 sacks. Might Wilson benefit from such a move to a new team in a new city where – as Saleh said regarding Thomas – he wouldn’t have to live up to his draft status and could be appreciated for what he brings rather than what he doesn’t provide?
Thomas isn’t ready to suggest that. But he isn’t ruling it out, either.
“As we saw last week, I think Zach is ready to play football, here or wherever he needs to go,” Thomas said. “In here we love Zach and we want Zach to be the best he can be and we know how talented he is. We want him to go do that because he deserves that and he’s worked for that.”
There has been plenty of speculation about Wilson’s future with the Jets in the last few weeks. When he was benched in late November it seemed as if he had definitely played his last snaps for the franchise. When he came back and had his AFC Offensive Player of the Week performance against the Texans last Sunday there were some who felt he had redeemed himself enough to earn a fourth year with the Jets and be Aaron Rodgers’ backup here in 2024.
Wilson’s future in New York is dependent on a number of factors, these next four games chief among them.
If he reverts back to the turnover-prone quarterback he has spent most of his career being there seems very little chance he returns. If he plays well enough and the Jets are agreeable about picking up some of the $11 million in guaranteed salary on the last year of his rookie contract next season, they might be able to trade him elsewhere for a mid-round pick. He might even play so far above anything we’ve seen from him that he convinces the team to keep him around for another year (even though one of the great sports miscalculations of 2023 remains the Jets not bringing in a viable option besides Wilson once Rodgers was injured).
Will the Jets be winning to eat that much money to dispose of Wilson and still then needing a suitable backup for a 40-year-old coming back from an Achilles injury? Will they risk the potential embarrassment of allowing him to go elsewhere and then thriving? There’s already one Geno Smith out there, do the Jets really need two reminders of their inability to draft and develop young quarterbacks?
Yep. It’s complicated.
Though he will have no actual voice in any of this, going elsewhere might be what is best for Wilson. It would give him a fresh start with a team that is essentially taking a flyer on him with a low-risk deal. Given the perennial shortage of quarterback talent in the league there are going to be plenty of teams where Wilson wouldn’t be seen as the disappointing draft pick but rather welcomed to either compete for playing time or be the somewhat reliable backup option behind an established starter.
“I can say this for about 90% of the players in the league: When you remove expectations from them and just watch their body of work there’s a lot of appreciation for a lot of guys,” Saleh said. “Including him.”
Saleh was talking about Thomas when he said “him” in that last part, the player who had to escape the shadow of his own football lineage in order to start finally playing up to it.
“I’m definitely more comfortable with who I am and my role and understanding it,” Thomas said of his current mindset with the Jets. “I came into the league and it was confusing to me. I played a different position, didn’t really understand what they wanted from me, and now I have a clear view.”
Thomas said he still loves the Niners, their coaches and the players, and that he is always rooting for them, but he also said he does not regret leaving there as a free agent.
“I had a great time in Vegas and it led me here where I am playing my best ball and having an amazing time,” he said.
Maybe the same will soon go for Wilson, too.
He’s certainly heard Thomas’ tales and advice, having sat next to him the past two years. If he has fully absorbed them, then he must know that his best future could very well be waiting for him elsewhere.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
