Booger McFarland Unleashes Scorching Hot Take About Zach Wilson And Money

Booger McFarland thinks money is the root of Zach Wilson's issues.

The young New York Jets quarterback has been getting ruthlessly dragged after bombing against the Patriots, and then claiming the offense didn't let the defense down at all during the 10-3 loss. Wilson, who was the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, finished with an abysmal 77 passing yards on nine passes.

What does the former player turned ESPN pundit think is the problem? The former BYU sensation grew up too rich to know how to take accountability.

"Let's understand who this young man is before we ask him to accept a lot of responsibility. He's a young man who grew up with a lot of money. I don't think he's ever had to accept accountability. So, now on the biggest stage, we want this quarterback to accept accountability," McFarland said from the set of "Monday Night Football."

Steve Young, who was also a star at BYU, attempted to dispute McFarland's assessment, but he didn't want to hear any counterpoints.

To be clear, Zach Wilson has a very wealthy uncle. His mom's brother David is reportedly worth several hundred million dollars and founded JetBlue. He's also played a role in the creation of several other airlines.

However, there's nothing to suggest that his parents - Lisa and Mike - have an insane amount of wealth. Could they be well off? Sure. Could they even be absolutely loaded beyond belief? Maybe, but there's nothing to suggest that's absolutely the case.

Your uncle being loaded doesn't mean you are. That's not always how life works out.

Would it even matter if Zach Wilson did grow up rich?

As you can see in the clip above, Steve Young wasn't overly impressed with the point McFarland wanted to make about Zach Wilson.

Does growing up rich mean you can't accept accountability? The answer is obviously no. There have been several great NFL players who grew up wealthy.

Patrick Mahomes and Peyton Manning are two great examples. Both had pro athletes for fathers, and both never ran from accountability.

On the other hand, Johnny Manziel definitely didn't grow up poor and he flamed out after two years. So, it goes to show you can be successful born into wealth or you can fail. It's not a guarantee of anything.

Fun fact comparing Manziel and Wilson, if the season ended right now for the Jets QB, Manziel would have had a better TD:INT ratio, more passing yards, a better completion rate and a higher QBR in his second year. Zach Wilson is very literally worse than Manziel was in year two by a noticeable margin on the stat sheet. Remember, Manziel was getting after it off the field, and somehow still managed to outperform what Zach Wilson is currently doing. Pretty mind-boggling.

Sometimes, you just reach a bit too far for a hot take, and that's exactly what happened here. Booger McFarland with a huge swing and a miss on the root of Zach Wilson's issues.

Written by
David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.