Zach Wilson’s Miami era has officially begun.
The quarterback signed with the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
He spoke about his decision to join the Dolphins while on Wednesday’s episode of “Drive Time with Travis Wingfield,” a Dolphins podcast.
He also discussed his time in New York, how his stint in Denver helped him and what attracted him to Miami.
Here are the takeaways from Wilson’s podcast appearance.
Why Zach Wilson chose the Miami Dolphins
Wilson said Miami was “a great fit” for him because of head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell and the right place to write the next chapter of his NFL career.
“I think it’s going to be a great fit just with what I’m looking for, the type of offense, the amount of information I’ll be able to learn from these guys. I think it couldn’t have been a better match,” he said.
Wilson called the Dolphins' offense “extremely explosive.”
“There’s obviously a lot of speed on the field. It’s been one of those teams that on film you know when I try to watch film of the offense, you can’t really replicate anything they’re doing because they’re extremely explosive with what they have. And coach does a great job of altering things to his players and what their best strong suits are,” he said.
The former second overall pick said that in him the Dolphins are getting “somebody willing to come into work every single day, take advantage of the opportunity and go out there and be my best self and let it fly.”
The Miami weather, which Wilson described as “awesome,” may have also played a role in the former BYU quarterback’s decision to move south.
Wilson is familiar with the Dolphins from his time with the New York Jets. The two teams are division foes, meaning that they face off twice each season.
Wilson said that, while he was in New York, he would look forward to playing a late-season game in Miami, where he would have a break from the cold weather.
“This was always one of my favorite stadiums, if not my favorite stadium, just because every year we played Miami December or January and it was freezing wherever we were at and I was like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to get to that Miami game where we get to enjoy some sun,‘” he said.
How sitting a year with the Denver Broncos helped Zach Wilson’s career
Wilson spoke highly of the Denver Broncos coaching staff during the podcast appearance.
“They were phenomenal. It was almost a different look at playing the position. I felt like I was able to get on my feet and learn a ton of new things and felt like I was playing good ball. I’m excited to kind of find what’s next in the journey,” he said.
The former BYU quarterback said it was “super strange” to not take a regular season snap at all last season as Denver’s third-string quarterback.
It made him think “how can I work hard to get back to that point where I can be on the field and finding the best opportunities for that in any way and just trying to get better so I can be ready for that.”
He added that it almost “felt like taking that next step, it got a little bit easier out there just playing with the guys around me.”
What Zach Wilson said about his time with the New York Jets
Wilson was also asked about his time with the Jets, where he spent the first three seasons of his career before being traded to Denver last April.
“It was challenging, you know, and there’s things looking back I wish I could have done so much better, maybe would have approached differently,” he said.
Though those three years didn’t go as planned, Wilson acknowledged that they will always be part of his NFL story.
“Learning from those experiences and those hard times ultimately is what got me here and hopefully being able to take advantage of the next opportunity here,” he said.