Zach Wilson is one of the most interesting players in the 2021 draft class. He had a meteoric rise up draft boards this season. Entering the season as a relative unknown, Wilson caught my eye early after a dismantling of Louisiana Tech’s defense. He had 325 yards and two touchdowns with a 92% completion percentage. 

Over the next few months, Wilson would capture the attention and hearts of football fans everywhere, his stellar play leading BYU to their best season in a decade. With his great play, Zach Wilson has entered his name into the early first-round conversation, but who is Zach Wilson as a player? For that, we look to the tape.

If there’s one word I’d use to describe Zach Wilson’s play, it’s fun. At no point in watching Wilson will you feel sleepy. There is no yawning while watching him play. He will make some of the craziest throws that you will ever see. Routinely you will see Wilson roll out and hit a 50+ yard throw into a tight window, all on the run of course. He will evade rushers, then fling a pass right on the money downfield. He is great throwing on the run, still able to put balls in extremely tight windows.

There’s not a tight window that Wilson did not love to challenge, and more times than not he hits the throw. This is due to his great arm talent. The ball flies out of Wilson’s hand, with more than enough zip. His ball placement at times is mind-boggling. He will put a ball only where the receiver can get it. Wilson sometimes reminds me of a professional dart thrower, how he can so accurately put passes precisely where it needs to be. Wilson has good overall accuracy, there aren’t many errant passes on his film.

What I love a lot about Wilson is how tough of a runner he is. He’s more than capable of scrambling, and he’s fearless when he runs. You can see his passion for the game every time he takes off. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to score and bring his team to victory. He has good speed but I wouldn’t call him the most elusive in the open field. In the pocket, he’s a bit more mobile, able to sidestep defenders and move around the pocket before finding a man downfield.

There is a lot to like about Wilson, with his fearless style combined with great arm talent and ball placement. I feel that what makes Wilson so great is what can possibly hamper him in the future. As mentioned earlier, there isn’t a tight window that Wilson isn’t willing to challenge. There are some dangerous throws on tape that could’ve been picked off. He reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield, or for an even higher-end comparison Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, in his gunslinging mentality. I think a team needs to have him sit a year to reign him in a bit.

In addition, I think Wilson’s a bit raw as a quarterback. He isn’t the fastest processor or reader of the field. I don’t think he’s bad or hopeless, but he definitely isn’t Joe Burrow. I wouldn’t call him a bad decision-maker, he just a lot of times looks for the big play. A noticeable thing I feel he should improve on is, he will see his target, pump fake, then throw it anyway to a covered up receiver. I see most of his missed passes due to timing as well. I think that sitting and learning could help him further learn and progress as a quarterback, learning how to get himself in a rhythm and play a tad bit less loose (You don’t want to reign him in too much though.) He’s just missing some of the subtle nuances you want from your quarterback, but he’s still young and has room to grow.

After watching Wilson, I can easily see his great upside. He has a ton of arm talent and a major knack for making big plays happen. He has good accuracy and some great ball placement. He is a very fun gunslinger with a ton of potential. He has some problems currently though. I think he still has some things to work on with his overall game to become a more complete player. A team should draft him high with the intention of sitting him for a year or two and ironing out some kinks. He has some risk attached to his playstyle, but also has some major franchise quarterback potential.

Writer

-By: Jacob Keppen

What a season it has been for Zach Wilson.

The junior who grew up just 40 minutes from the BYU campus put a finishing stamp on his 2020 season, slicing up UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl 49-23 as the Cougars finished the improv season 11-1.

I thought this was going to be one of the more exciting bowls on the slate (especially since the SEC decided that essentially every single one of its teams needed to be in a bowl game), and I was half right. BYU fans were thrilled, but this was not a good game.

Wilson cut through the UCF defense like swiss cheese. 26/34 passing for 425 yards and five total touchdowns. The junior turned the bowl game into a yawner real quick, the Cougars cruised to a 35-7 at halftime and a 49-10 lead two possessions into the second half. With their foot on the gas pedal, the Cougars averaged over ten yards/play through three quarters.

Is this hot performance at the end of the year enough to push Wilson to the QB2 spot for the 2021 NFL Draft? Perhaps. I think it’s a toss-up between Wilson and Fields, with the latter still having the grand stage of the College Football Playoff to make a lasting impression.

Where is the best fit for Wilson? Let’s examine.

New York Jets: Ok Fit

Currently slotted in the number two pick, there is still one big question for the Jets: Are they going to be willing to move off of Sam Darnold now that they won’t get a chance to draft Trevor Lawrence? I don’t think we have a clear answer for that yet. I think it depends on who the Jets choose to replace Adam Gase after the season ends. Could the Jets benefit more from Penei Sewell or Ja’Marr Chase to better help the quarterback they already have? Possibly. The Jets might have the toughest pick in the draft, maybe they trade out of it for a team willing to overpay for the services of Wilson or Fields.

Carolina Panthers: Good Fit

The Panthers are primed to scoop up whichever top quarterback the Jets and Jags don’t. Teddy Bridgewater has been solid in his first season under Matt Rhule, but don’t think for a second that the Panthers aren’t looking for their quarterback of the future. Wilson would be a great fit with all the skill position players in place in Carolina, and if the Panthers can keep OC Joe Brady around for another season, watch out.

Atlanta Falcons: Bad Fit

As I sit here typing this, I don’t think the Falcons are going to move off of Matt Ryan. There are too many other holes on the Falcons roster to justify drafting a quarterback of the future, especially since Ryan has a cap hit of over $40 million next year. If there’s a team willing to trade for Ryan and his contract, the weapons in place would be great for any young quarterback, I just don’t think that will be the case.

San Francisco: Good Fit

Who wouldn’t want to play under Kyle Shanahan? The 49ers don’t seem committed to keeping Jimmy Garropolo around past this season, so the 49ers could look to trade up and try and snag a young QB like Wilson. With a great running game and a young receiver in Brandon Aiyuk, this would be an ideal situation for Wilson to show off that dynamic right arm.

New England: Good Fit

Another trade-up possibility, the Patriots can’t be too thrilled with the QB play they have had this season. While quarterback isn’t the only problem in New England, a game-changing talent like Zach Wilson could go a long way to helping the Patriots move on from Tom Brady. The Pats are currently slotted at the 15th pick, so they would need to trade up to get a chance at Wilson. What’s your move Bill?

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson

It’s About time.

Two of the best stories of the college football season will meet on Saturday in Conway, S.C., with the ESPN College Gameday treatment and all. The winner will get a huge boost toward the Group of Five’s bid for an NY6 Bowl, adding on for BYU, a last-second heave to impress the CFP Committee into a College Football Playoff berth.

I am still disappointed that BYU didn’t get Cincinnati in this spot. The Bearcats still have this weekend open, so we have no idea if there was any real chance of getting a game between them and the Cougars, but man that would've been a treat and possibly enough for Cincinnati to have a real chance at a spot in the top four. 

Nonetheless, we get a real treat, and BYU gets a blessing in a ranked opponent when Liberty backed out due to COVID-19 concerns (We hope everyone in the Flames program has a speedy recovery, they have been fun to watch this year). As the two teams scramble to get ready for each other (literally, look here), let’s see what we will get on Saturday.

While we have all seen the high-flying offense and overall dominance of BYU, the Chanticleers have arguably a better resume than the Cougars. Coastal has more power five wins than BYU (winless Kansas is a stretch to call “Power 5), but we have to count it, and also has a ranked win at Louisiana. Those are two wins that BYU does not have.

Let’s remember, this is the Chanticleers *fourth* season at the FBS level, where it has never had a winning record before, let alone be ranked.

The best marker on BYU’s thin resume is a Boise State team down to its third-string quarterback on the blue turf, but the sheer impressiveness of BYU’s 51-17 win was enough to help push the Cougars to No. 13 in the latest CFP rankings.

The ultimate x-factor, like every BYU game, is Zach Wilson. He’s the projected first-round quarterback in this game, so if he exceeds, so will BYU and that explosive offense. The Coastal defense is stiff. They’ve allowed under 17 points a game, get to the quarterback a ton, and force a bunch of turnovers.

If we expect Wilson and Co. to light it up like they have all year, it might come down to how effectively Coastal can keep it out of his hands. The Chanticleers have been excellent at controlling the clock this year. Four different rushers have over 300 rushing yards, and QB Grayson McCall has made hardly any mistakes with a 20-1 TD-INT ratio this season. They’ll go against a BYU defense that has allowed less than 300 yards a game.

So much good football in this game. Such a shame that it’s going to get relegated to ESPNU. Let’s hope the committee has that channel. For one of these teams, it will be a statement in a historic and crazy season.

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson