Zach Wilson may be under heavy scrutiny entering his second season, but he received serious street cred when former NFL star Chad Johnson dropped a Patrick Mahomes comparison when discussing the New York Jets quarterback in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

“Zach is extremely good,” Johnson said. “He has the ‘it’ factor — very Patrick Mahomes-ish. I’m not saying he’s Patrick Mahomes, but you watch his mechanics, his throwing motion, the way he moves, he’s very Patrick Mahomes-ish. So, I became a fan. … Zach Wilson is gonna flourish, he’s gonna flourish in New York.”

Johnson, the former Ochocinco, has quite the reputation for attention-grabbing moments on and off the field. So, perhaps this is just a hot-take headline. But the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver sure seems taken with Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Wilson showed flashes as a rookie and did play better after returning in Week 12 following a four-game absence due to a knee injury. The Jets youngster finished with a 3-10 record as a starter, completed 55.6 percent of his passes and threw for 2,334 yards, nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The former BYU star has a cannon of an arm and is often at his best off script when a play breaks down. Wilson has also shown elusiveness as a runner. So, there are similarities to Mahomes.

If there was a Mahomes-ish moment for Wilson last season, it came in Week 15 when he took off on a scintillating 52-yard touchdown dash against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mahomes, of course, is among the true elite talents in the NFL. In four seasons as a starter, he has been a regular-season MVP and Super Bowl champion and MVP. He threw 50 touchdowns in 2018 and has a career 105.8 QB rating.

Johnson pointed out that to maximize one’s natural talents, young quarterbacks need to be surrounded by playmakers on offense.

“I say this all the time when it comes to young quarterbacks, the better the supporting cast, the easier their job becomes, where the onus isn’t just on him to get the job done,” Johnson said.

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The Jets are doing that. Wide receiver Elijah Moore and running back Michael Carter were drafted in 2021, and then receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall were selected in the first two rounds in 2022. In free agency, they added veteran receiver Corey Davis last year before snagging tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin this year.

“(Wilson) and Elijah Moore, this year, they gonna create magic,” Johnson predicted.

Johnson is not the only one expecting big things from Wilson. Last week, Uzomah was asked what it would be like if the Jets QB had a similar Year 2 jump like Joe Burrow did with the Bengals last season.

“Not if. He will,” Uzomah said.

Wilson has his believers, no doubt. Now he needs to prove he’s worthy of such faith once the bullets start flying Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.