Zach Wilson will look to use what he’s learned from Aaron Rodgers to beat Packers

Last summer, when the Jets participated in joint practices with the Packers in Green Bay, Zach Wilson, then a wide-eyed rookie, got to meet his boyhood idol, Aaron Rodgers. It had the feel of fantasy camp for Wilson.

On Sunday in Green Bay, it gets real for Wilson, who has a chance to take down the Packers and Rodgers, the quarterback he’s modeled his game after since he was about 13 years old.

Wilson and the Jets are 3-2, same as Rodgers and the Packers.

“As long as I can remember playing football, I was a big fan,’’ Wilson said of Rodgers. “We didn’t have an NFL team in Utah, so I wouldn’t say I was a Packers fan, but I was just an Aaron Rodgers fan. I grew up watching him. He was the quarterback I tried to replicate and steal things from. I like the way he plays the game.’’

Wilson called meeting Rodgers at the joint practices last summer and picking his brain “cool kind of to just watch him and the environment.’’

Asked if he ever told Rodgers he was his idol, Wilson said, “I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned that to him, but I’ve been watching him ever since I was a little kid. I was trying to replicate the way he throws, the way he plays the game.’’

Asked what things he’s taken from Rodgers and incorporated into his game, Wilson said, “A little bit of everything. He’s extremely accurate underneath. The way he’s able to place the ball, and you see his completion percentage, how he takes care of the ball, and then he’s able to be that athletic, scramble-type quarterback a little bit, off-schedule, being able to create plays out of nothing while protecting himself.

“I like the way he plays in the offense and outside of the offense.’’

Wilson said he figures playing a game that means something in the standings against Rodgers will be similar to when the Jets played the Buccaneers and Tom Brady last season.

“It was like, ‘Wow, we’re playing against Tom Brady right now. I’ve watched this guy since I was born, which is kind of crazy,’ ’’ Wilson said. “I’m sure it will be the same kind of thing in this game. Being on the same field as [Rodgers] is cool.’’

What’s cool for the Jets is that Wilson has contributed to two consecutive victories and he’s done it in different ways.

Two weeks ago, he engineered two fourth-quarter drives in a comeback victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Last week, his passing numbers were modest in the home win over the Dolphins, but he played a solid, manageable game and didn’t turn the ball over.

“In two games, I feel what Zach has shown against Pittsburgh in the fourth quarter, he looked like a guy who can put the team on his back, just sat in the pocket, got good protection, got the ball where it needed to go … and then against Miami, we ran the ball really, really well and it was just more facilitating, getting the ball to where it needed to go,’’ Jets head coach Robert Saleh said. “That was such a maturation on his part.

“We saw all through training camp, felt like he was going to take a step. I still think he has a long way to go. [But] he’s so much better than he was a year ago and I think he’s only going to get better as he continues to get reps. How many starts has he had — 15? He hasn’t even played a full season yet. It will be interesting to see how good he gets.’’

Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur on Thursday spoke about how much “more comfortable’’ Wilson looks with every start.

“He’s more comfortable with the league and the speed of it, he’s more comfortable with the offense, he’s more comfortable with his teammates,’’ LaFleur said. “He went in with the same mindset in the fourth quarter of the Steelers game. I don’t think he put anyone on his back. He executed and threw it to the receivers and the receivers did a tremendous job of getting their separation and the line, particularly in that fourth quarter against the Steelers, protected as well as they did all game.

“So, I thought he just went out and played good quarterback in that fourth quarter and it carried over to this last game. He did a lot of good things.’’

If he does enough good things Sunday at Lambeau Field, Wilson will help take down his childhood idol in a real game, not a practice.