The Denver Broncos have to be proud of their backup quarterback Zach Wilson, who they traded for in April ahead of the NFL Draft, for what has been a surprisingly promising preseason. The fourth-year signal-caller finished 16-of-25 for 251 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. NFL Twitter took notice of his stellar second-quarter, 77-yard touchdown-leading drive, which began with a well-executed 21-yard scramble. He led three other scoring drives, two for touchdowns, including one highlighted by a 46-yard TD pass to Brandon Johnson.

Blessed with the wisdom of being an NFL veteran, Wilson looked much more at ease and in his element. The Broncos did finish the preseason with a sterling 3-0 record. Granted, he was playing against backups, but this was impressive, as noted by Twitter user Football Digest.

“Zach Wilson has looked better than he ever has in his time with the Denver Broncos so far this preseason. Pocket presence, patience, accuracy, everything. This drive was damn near flawless by him.”

The user @ChrisHarrisJr shared the same sentiment.

“Zach Wilson really just got thrown in the fire too early . I blame the scouts lol”

The praise isn't just coming from the peanut gallery. Former Jets teammate Sauce Gardner expressed his belief in Wilson on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long.

“Right, so I did practice against him for two-straight years, and I've seen him do like some special things in games, so it's like I know he can do it. So it's just going to take something to get it out of him so this way this can become who he is like game in, game out every day at practice.”

After a revelatory preseason, can Zach Wilson be the Broncos' QB2?

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It's easy to forget that Jarrett Stidham was the presumed QB1 before Wilson was acquired and the Broncos drafted Bo Nix. At the time, Stidham did his best to minimize the competition and express his focus on the job.

“I've dealt with this before when I was in New England with Mac Jones,” Stidham said. “It's a business and I totally understand it, but at the same time, I'm here to compete. I'm not going to just sit down and let someone else walk in here and just [take the role]. I'm going to work my butt off to get the job. I'm super excited about it.”

Nix has the starting job locked up, so Wilson has to keep his head down and work to earn a second contract. He is in the final year of his rookie deal and carries a cap hit of $2.7M this year.

The final cutdown day to make the 53-man roster is Tuesday, August 27.