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Aaron Rodgers takes young quarterback under his wing

photos -jpgby:Ashton Pollard•08/18/21•

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Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The mentorship Aaron Rodgers provided Jordan Love this offseason is now well-documented, but Rodgers did not stop with tutoring young quarterbacks on the Packers roster. 

The Super Bowl MVP spent some time with quarterback Zach Wilson ahead of the Jets’ preseason game in Green Bay on Saturday.

Despite the fact that Wilson and Rodgers now possess the same job title, the rookie and his teammates cannot help but be a little starstruck when they have the opportunity to take notes from the future Hall of Famer. 

“We’re all technically at the same level now,” Wilson said. “We’re all in the NFL, but we’re all still kinda like ‘That’s Aaron Rodgers. That’s kinda crazy.’ But you know, it’s still a great tool for us to be able to learn from him and kinda see what he’s doing.”

Despite not being a Packers fan, Wilson was a Rodgers fan growing up

“I wasn’t necessarily a Green Bay fan, but I was a Rodgers fan,” Wilson said. “He was always the game I always wanted to watch on Sundays. I would always make sure I was watching his full games, you know, what he was doing. But I didn’t have a jersey.”

Wilson, who just turned 22 earlier this month, was just six years old when Rodgers NFL career began in 2005. 

“[Rodgers] has always been someone I’ve modeled my game after,” Wilson said. “You know, I’ve tried to always kinda copy what he’s been doing because he’s done it the right way for such a long time. He’s just a fun player to watch.”

Rodgers has several top-notch elements of his game, but Wilson has one in particular he would love to have if he could choose. 

“Obviously the way he throws the ball is amazing, but I wouldn’t say that’s something you necessarily need to be as successful as he is,” Wilson said. “I would just say the way he understands the game, kinda what’s going on. The way he’s able to change things, pick things up and still stay calm. It’s pretty impressive.”

Even though Wilson has a long way to go to achieve his new mentor’s status, he bested Rodgers’ final year of college stats last season. The NFL rookie threw for 3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions for BYU in 2020. In his final year at Cal, Rodgers had 2,566 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions.