Zach Wilson is a quarterback prospect from BYU. Some consider him to be a one year wonder because of how he burst onto the scene in 2020 after a couple of mediocre years, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has all the traits necessary to be an NFL quarterback. He has a strong arm, great accuracy, a lot of mobility, and he knows how to manipulate defenses, which is why he’ll be a great quarterback in the NFL. 

Strengths: 

  • Great Mobility

Zach Wilson is a very mobile quarterback who doesn’t necessarily break off long runs down the field where he speeds past guys but rather uses his quickness and elusiveness to avoid defenders, and he also does a great job of sliding to avoid taking hits and to frustrate defenders even more.

  • Generates Velocity and Distance

Zach Wilson does an amazing job generating velocity and distance behind his throws using his strong arm and body motion to throw deep as well as throw hard to fit the ball into tight windows.

  • Accuracy to All Parts of the Field

Zach Wilson can also accurately throw the ball to all parts of the field and all depths. His deep ball is extremely accurate and looks very pretty as well, and he knows how to get it to drop right down into the receivers hands at the last second.

  • Great Poise

Zach Wilson has great poise and pocket presence to really maneuver himself around the pocket to buy himself extra time to avoid pressure and find a guy open deeper down the field.

  • Throws Receivers Open

Even when it looks like receivers are heavily draped by defenders Wilson does a truly great job of leading them open and throwing them open whether that be knowing when and where to throw a jump ball as well as finding windows where the receiver has leverage to throw to.

  • Great at Manipulating Defenders with Eyes

Zach Wilson does a phenomenal job to manipulate safeties as well as linebackers who are in zone coverage in the direction that the football is not going to create windows of opportunity for a throw.

  • Amazing Throwing Off Platform

One of the most flashy aspects of Wilson’s game is how well he’s able to throw off platform. Whether he’s going to the ground or changing his arm angle to throw from a different level Wilson can truly make any throw in any position which makes him so dangerous.

Weaknesses: 

  • Low Competition Level

Zach Wilson in college consistently faced teams BYU was better than and as a result he had way too much time to throw as well as receivers who got open quickly. In his 6 matchups against Top 25 teams in his career he’s just 2-4.

  • One Year Wonder

Teams should always be wary of players who have smaller sample sizes because it leaves room for lucky play. Wilson was pretty average before popping off in 2020 and teams should be cautious.

  • Plays Hero Ball too Often

Zach Wilson will sometimes ignore the safe play in order to chase the bigger gain which wasn’t a problem at BYU because he had plenty of time in the pocket and wasn’t forced to have to come back from large deficits very often but in the NFL this type of play style could leave him susceptible to turnovers. 

Player Comp: As a Seahawks fan Zach Wilson reminds me of another Wilson and that is Russell Wilson. It’s a pretty lofty comparison considering the latter Wilson will likely be a first ballot HOFer but in terms of play style I think Zach Wilson plays in a very similar way. He’s a bit bigger than Russ but both guys have great mobility that comes from their quickness and they also both do a great job throwing off platform and on the run. Both guys have great arm talent and phenomenal deep balls, with accuracy to all parts of the field. They also both know how to manipulate defenders with their eyes. I think both guys could also fall into the trap of holding onto the ball for too long looking for the deep play and taking sacks for this reason. Obviously Zach Wilson isn’t as refined as Russ in all aspects of his game just yet but at his ceiling I think Zach can be just as good.

Final Thoughts: Again for Zach Wilson there’s not really much to talk about here. Most have him as QB2 and it seems as if it’s a foregone conclusion that he goes #2 overall to the Jets and I have him in the same spot. Others see him as close to Fields and Lance but I think he’s in a tier of his own after the Lawrence tier so I guess you could say I’m a touch higher on Wilson than consensus but it’s not even a full pick of difference. The Jets are picking second and that Shanahan system could use a mobile guy who can throw on the run like Wilson so the Jets are a good fit for Wilson.