New York Jets

The New York Jets have their new franchise quarterback in Zach Wilson after selecting the BYU product with the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NFL draft. 

This pick could help solidify the position for the Jets while the 21-year-old benefits with a big new deal.

Wilson will earn a projected $35,150,681 over the four-year deal based on his draft spot, per Spotrac. The new contract should also feature a $22.9 million signing bonus with a $6.4 million cap hit in 2021.

If things go well, New York will have a fifth-year option in 2025 assuming the two sides haven't already agreed to an extension.

The deal comes as part of a breakthrough year for Wilson, who was overlooked by most draft scouts after totaling just 33 passing touchdowns in his first two seasons combined. He turned things around in 2020 with 33 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions in 12 games for BYU, finishing in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting.

The quarterback also added 10 rushing touchdowns while ranking third in the country with 3,692 passing yards and second with a 196.4 quarterback rating. It helped the Cougars finished 11-1 as one of the best seasons in school history.

Beyond the box score, Wilson also impressed scouts throughout the year with his mobility and arm strength.

Chris Simms of NBC Sports even called the Draper, Utah native the best quarterback in the class, ahead of Trevor Lawrence.

Wilson will now get a chance to prove it on the field for the Jets.

HEIGHT: 6'2⅛"

WEIGHT: 214

POSITIVES

— Three-year starter who took over as a true freshman.

— Can throw guys open with his accuracy on all three levels; will place throws attempting to save his receivers from hits. Willing to make tight throws at all levels and is constantly aggressive. He will attempt back-shoulder throws and place balls against tight coverage. Plays with confidence.

— Excellent deep-ball thrower. Can throw far and throws a nice, catchable ball. Good intermediate arm strength. Overall solid arm strength and can put some zip on outside throws.

— Played in an offense that had translatable concepts to the next level.

— Has the ability to ad-lib and also change arm slots on his throws. Able to make throws off-platform. Will extend plays and use his legs.

— Good, smooth athlete. Able to make defenses pay when he scrambles versus man coverage or zone reads. 

— Quick release, even when on the move. Able to quickly get run-pass option throws and screens to the receivers to generate yards after the catch.

 NEGATIVES

— Needs to be more consistent with his dropback timing. Has times when he takes a couple of unnecessary bounces and hitches and needs to throw with anticipation. He ends up trying to overcompensate on this and will overstride and sail throws.

— Confidence might lead him to try throws that he shouldn't in the NFL.

— Ball security can be poor in the pocket, especially when looking to ad-lib on throws. Will carry the ball below his waist.

— Above-average height at the QB position but has a slight build. Would not ask him to do QB run concepts up the middle consistently, and he may go down easier in the pocket than he did in college. Durability will be a question given his build and getting hit in the NFL.

— Really a one-year wonder with his production versus subpar competition.

2020 STATISTICS

12 G, 247-of-336 (73.5%), 3,692 YDS, 11.0 Y/A, 33 TD, 3 INT, 196.4 RAT

70 ATT, 254 YDS, 10 TD

NOTES

— First-Team All-Independent

OVERALL

Zach Wilson is a gunslinger QB who exploded during his third year as a starter at BYU. He has the arm talent to consistently make throws at all three levels from controlled settings and while off-platform. He is a good athlete who shows the ability to create and ad-lib plays when initial reads are covered, which is coveted from the QB position in today's NFL. 

Wilson has the utmost confidence in his arm and is not scared to throw into tight windows, even downfield. He will still need to improve on his timing, ball security, and when to learn to tone down the aggression and be a quarterback instead of a thrower. He showed confidence in concepts he ran often (mesh, mirrored routes) but would sometimes be lacking the ability to progress on infrequent play calls. His slight overall build is also something to note, as he won't be able to pull out of defenders' grasps as easily in the NFL and durability will be something to keep track of. 

Overall, Wilson is a legit franchise QB prospect who will add excitement and explosive plays to whatever offense he joins, but might take some time to adjust to what he can—and can't—get away with at the NFL level.

GRADE: 8.7/10 (Immediate impact NFL starter, 1st round)

OVERALL RANK: 7/300

POSITION RANK: QB4

PRO COMPARISON: Jeff Garcia

Written by B/R NFL Scout Nate Tice

While the New York Jets have not turned in their draft card just yet, the consensus feeling is that they are poised to take Brigham Young quarterback Zach Wilson.

The Jets own the No. 2 selection, Clemson's Trevor Lawrence is expected to go No. 1 and 2018 first-round pick Sam Darnold has been jettisoned.

There's no such thing as a can't-miss draft prospect, and Wilson wasn't widely considered a top-two pick until relatively recently. However, the Jets feel comfortable penciling in a rookie as the starter in 2021.

"I don't think there's risk," new head coach Robert Saleh told reporters. "It still comes down to having a good football team and building a good roster around everybody."

The challenge of having a good football team and a good roster is the same one that faced the Jets three years ago when they draft Darnold. It's also why not everyone believes that Wilson is a slam-dunk selection at No. 2 or the right fit for the Jets.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes that sticking with Darnold would have been the right move for New York.

"If I were the Jets, Rich, I would've stuck with Sam Darnold," Kiper said on the Rich Eisen Show (h/t Mike Rosenstein of NJ.com). "I would not have drafted a quarterback."

One unnamed quarterbacks coach went into more detail about why drafting Wilson is a risk, telling Bruce Feldman of The Athletic:

"The good with Zach Wilson is really good, but the bad can be really, really bad. And when he goes to a bad team like the Jets and he's trying to win games, those are big concerns. ... If I had to bet money, I'd bet it doesn't work out for him with the Jets. Zach playing right away in that market with his play style — woof—that'd make me really nervous."

Any team with the No 2 pick in the draft is going to have talent issues, so why is Wilson such a risky option for the Jets? Why is he a risk worth taking? Let's dig in.

The Risk Factor with Drafting Wilson

Expecting Wilson to start from Day 1 on a talent-starved roster is risky. From Tim Couch and David Carr to Darnold, we have seen that young quarterbacks can struggle to rise above their supporting cast.

Yes, the Jets made some major additions in free agency, but this is largely still a roster that won only two games in 2020.

Darnold couldn't quite overcome the talent deficit in his three seasons in New York. It's fair to wonder whether Wilson will fare any better. Darnold, for what it's worth, was viewed by many as the top quarterback prospect in 2018.

"I think he caught some backlash this year because of the pre-season hype and the interceptions," one AFC executive said of Darnold to NFL Media's Lance Zierlein. "He's still the most complete quarterback in this draft with the best makeup to be a good pro."

While Wilson has emerged as a draft darling, he isn't quite the polished pro prospect that many viewed Darnold to be.

"The gunslinger's mentality and improvised release points are clearly patterned off of one of his favorite players, Aaron Rodgers," Zierlein wrote. "However, his play is a little more reminiscent of a blend between Jake Plummer and Johnny Manziel coming out of college."

Wilson also has just one level of elite production on his college resume. He passed for 3,692 yards with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions last year. He passed for only 1,578 yards in 2018 and had an 11-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2019.

The progress Wilson showed between 2019 and last season was tremendous. However, he will need to prove that he can continue improving on an NFL playing field. And there's no guarantee he will be able to do so.

What About the Upside?

One big selling point for Wilson is the growth he displayed last season—much of it as a result of his own study habits.

"This guy's a football junkie," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. "He studies film like crazy."

It also helped that Wilson put the shoulder injury that bothered him in 2019 in the rearview. The combination of health and increased football knowledge helped Wilson produce a season's worth of impressive film.

Some, including NBC Sports' Chris Simms and NFL Media's Gil Brandt even view Wilson as a better pro prospect than Lawrence.

While Wilson's rise in 2020 wasn't quite as dramatic as Joe Burrow's the year before, it also isn't a situation where teams need to go back a year to find his best tape—as is the case with prospects like Justin Fields and Trey Lance.

Then there's the physical upside, which Wilson showed off during his pro day.

While teams should never put too much stock into how a player performs at a pro day—that's how guys like JaMarcus Russell get drafted highly—Wilson's ability to throw on the move and from multiple angles shouldn't be held against him.

The reality is that Wilson is close to a complete package when it comes to 2020 tape, athletic upside and—based on accounts from those around him—work ethic.

While Wilson isn't a perfect prospect, he's worth taking a chance on at No. 2 overall.

Why Is Wilson Worth the Risk?

The basic answer here is that Darnold is gone and the Jets need a quarterback. Like all of this year's prospects, Wilson is a risk, but he would also fill New York's position of greatest need.

While previous regimes failed to develop Darnold, Mark Sanchez and plenty of other quarterbacks, the Jets cannot be scared off by their track record, lack of talent and potential fit.

The roster got better in free agency, with the likes of Corey Davis, Tyler Kroft, Dan Feeney and Tevin Coleman being able to directly support the quarterback. Saleh is not the same coach who guided Darnold, and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is an experienced offensive mind.

The Jets aren't an elite team, but on paper, they are better than they were a year ago. The new coaching staff deserves an opportunity to prove itself.

As for the recent quarterback history in New York? The Jets need only to look to the long-listless Cleveland Browns to find a glimpse of hope. The Browns have an even more depressing recent quarterback history than that of the Jets. They just won 12 games, including one in the postseason.

Has Baker Mayfield—who was taken first overall in 2018, two spots ahead of Darnold—been a Pro Bowl quarterback for Cleveland? No, but he's survived the early ups and downs while the Browns put a competitive roster around him. Even if Wilson isn't perfect out of the gate, the Jets can ride his early struggles.

Perhaps New York could have built a contender around Darnold as the Browns have around Mayfield. But that ship has sailed, and drafting Wilson represents a fresh opportunity.

Passing on that opportunity because Wilson represents a risk is a mistake that the Jets cannot afford to make.

BYU quarterback Zach Wilson has reached out to three former New York Jets quarterbacks—Josh McCown, Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez—to ask questions about what it's like to play for the franchise and inside the country's biggest media market.

Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network provided that tidbit and more details about Wilson's preparations ahead of the 2021 NFL draft, where he'll likely be the Jets' choice with the No. 2 overall pick, based on a conversation with his QB coach, John Beck:

Clemson's Trevor Lawrence is the Jacksonville Jaguars' presumptive choice with the first overall pick, and the Jets are expected to follow by taking Wilson as part of a quarterback-heavy top 10.

The BYU standout put together a tremendous junior season in 2020. He completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 3,692 yards with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions across 12 games for the Cougars. He also recorded 10 rushing scores.

"Great staff. Love those guys," Wilson told reporters when asked about the Jets after his pro day workout in March. "Joe Douglas is a great guy. It was good to see him out here. They've got a good thing going."

Playing in New York is a different animal compared to any other U.S. sports market. Every mistake is amplified, and the pressure on Wilson's shoulders if he does come off the board at No. 2 will be even higher as Jets fans desperately seek an end to the team's NFL-high 10-year playoff drought.

Getting some insight from the likes of McCown, Pennington and Sanchez can only help as he prepares for what's to come in the months and years ahead.

Pennington and Sanchez in particular should both be able to provide some great information about the possible pitfalls as former Jets first-round picks who were able to find some success but couldn't quite attain franchise QB status.

Sanchez appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd earlier this week and provided a taste of the advice he'd pass along to Wilson:

"He's gonna be in a very different media market. You're gonna have to stack all those things, and there's gonna be a learning curve for each of those categories—whether it's media, the on-the-field stuff.

"So, my only fear with him was, a little too riverboat gambler when you don't have to be. When it's an easy just routine grounder to second, and you just flip it to first base, flip it to first base. Don't give me any around-the-back, you know, through-the-legs Harlem Globetrotters—just get the guy out."

Wilson has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, but it's hard to know whether he'll find long-term success with the Jets until he faces that first stretch of adversity in New York and is forced to bounce back when the headlines are already predicting his demise.

The New York Jets are undergoing a significant rebuild and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who is widely expected to go second overall to Gang Green in the 2021 NFL draft, should be the centerpiece of that effort.

On Thursday, Jets first-year head coach Robert Saleh spoke with reporters during his pre-draft press conference, and Ralph Vacchiano of SNY asked about the "risk" of him installing a new system and constructing a new culture with a first-year signal-caller in the mix.

"I don't think there's risk. It still comes down to having a good football team and building a good roster around everybody. There's players here that are talented, there's rookies that are talented. The expectation is that they're 1 of 53 when it's all said and done and they've all got to perform their best to create a great football team.

"So as far as pressure is concerned, there's no pressure on me. There's always pressure. There's always pressure to put together the best football team we possibly can regardless of who's playing. I'm very comfortable with every decision that's made and it's our job to put him in the best position to be successful. And not just the quarterback, but every single player that takes the field."

There isn't much pressure on the Jets to immediately turn around the team, which stands as the only NFL franchise to miss the playoffs each of the past 10 years.

General manager Joe Douglas has stocked up on draft picks (11 in 2021, for example) to hopefully turn the Jets around, and the team is looking to continue adding talent around its eventual signal-caller.

In addition, there may not be too much risk with both a quarterback and coach entering a new team at the same time, as they'll likely have a longer shelf life to make things work.

There's more of a risk when a rookie quarterback is brought to a team who might have a coach potentially on the hot seat.

That was the case for Sam Darnold, who the Jets took No. 3 overall in 2018. He played one year under head coach Todd Bowles, who was fired after the season. Darnold then had to adjust under new head coach Adam Gase. That did not work either with the team winning just nine games in two years.

At any rate, Saleh should have some time to implement his vision, at least, so that could help Wilson's development.

Adding a rookie quarterback with a high draft pick under a first-year head coach wouldn't be unprecedented either.

The Arizona Cardinals took Kyler Murray soon after head coach Kliff Kingsbury joined the team. The same went for the 2016 Philadelphia Eagles (quarterback Carson Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson) and the 2012 Indianapolis Colts (signal-caller Andrew Luck and head coach Chuck Pagano). Mixed results have ensued for all three groups, with the Cardinals group still going strong, but each duo found some level of success along the way.

The rookie quarterback/coach pairing likely won't be the only time it happens this year, with the Jacksonville Jaguars almost certainly taking Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the first season of the Urban Meyer era.

Time will tell how it all works out, but for now, all signs point to Wilson being the first Jets quarterback playing for Saleh.

Players on the New York Jets announced through the NFLPA that many members of the team will be opting out of voluntary offseason workouts this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic:

The Jets have joined a large and growing list of teams who will not be taking part.

Officially, New York is the 13th team to announce its intention through the NFLPA, with the others being the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers.

The Jets are the fourth team to state their offseason plans Friday, with the Steelers, Falcons and Chargers also doing so.

The offseason program is structured as follows, per NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy: 

Activities are scheduled from April 19 through June 18 in three separate phases. The only required portion of the program is the mandatory minicamp, which is scheduled to take place sometime during the third phase (May 24-June 18).

The rest of the offseason would appear to be business as usual for the 32 NFL teams, with training camps slated to begin in late July. The preseason ledger has been cut down from four to three games with the regular season now 17 contests, though.

The NFL regular season is scheduled to begin on the second Thursday of September as usual.

Former New York Jets center Ryan Kalil thinks Sam Darnold was held back by former head coach Adam Gase.

"It was a system that didn’t allow a lot of individual freedom. It was very, 'You do it this way and that’s it,'" Kalil said, per Joseph Person of The Athletic. "A lot of the scheme was pre-determined (plays) based on what they thought they were seeing from the sideline. It didn’t give Sam a lot of room to grow, in my opinion, to make decisions on the fly. It worked in some instances, but it handicapped him in the long run."

Kalil played with Darnold under Gase during the 2019 season, but the two-time All-Pro center spent the previous 12 years with the Carolina Panthers. He gave insight on Darnold to a member of the Panthers front office when the team was considering a trade for the quarterback.

Carolina eventually sent three draft picks to the Jets in exchange for the 2018 No. 3 overall draft pick.

Kalil believes the change in location could be beneficial for Darnold.

"I had nothing but a positive experience with him," Kalil told Person. "I saw a guy who was an incredible worker. I saw a guy who cared a lot about his teammates, about his craft and his community. I saw a guy who wanted to be good and didn’t take anything for granted. But I just think he was in a system that wasn’t beneficial for him—(and) for a lot of players that were there during that time."

Gase went 9-23 in two seasons as the Jets head coach before being fired after the 2020 season.

Darnold, who has showed some promise in his three years in the NFL, struggled mightily last year while totaling just nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 12 games. His 72.7 quarterback rating was dead last in the league among qualified players.

There is no guarantee things will be better in North Carolina, but it is an exciting offense when healthy featuring playmakers Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady is also highly regarded after helping LSU win an NCAA championship two years ago.

It could allow Darnold to finally reach his potential in his fourth year in the NFL.

Sam Darnold said he is "relieved" to be with the Carolina Panthers, though he acknowledged that moving on from the team that drafted him was an emotional experience.

Darnold, who landed in Charlotte on Sunday afternoon, told Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site that "he never imagined being" in Carolina after three seasons with the New York Jets.

"I imagined I was going to be the franchise quarterback of the New York Jets for a long time," he said. "And once you realize that the team that drafted you is moving on, it stings a little bit."

The 23-year-old, who was drafted by the Jets with the No. 3 pick in 2018, was sent to the Panthers in exchange for three draft picks.

The Jets hold the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, giving the opportunity to select from a number of top signal-callers to replace Darnold. Doing so would make the Jets the first team since 1967 to select two quarterbacks with top-three picks in a four-year span, according to ESPN Stats & Information (h/t ESPN's Rich Cimini).

Darnold didn't live up to the ceiling of a No. 3 pick during his time in New York. He went 13-25 with 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions on a 59.8 completion percentage. He was the league's lowest-rated passer in 2020, and his career passer rating is the lowest among all quarterbacks since 2018, per Cimini.

With the Panthers, Darnold will have the opportunity to work with one of the league's brightest stars in running back Christian McCaffrey, and he will also reunite with wideout Robby Anderson, whom he spent two seasons with in New York. He said he had been texting with Anderson leading up to his arrival in Carolina.

While his departure from the Jets wasn't what he envisioned for his career, Darnold is clearly looking forward to getting going in Carolina.

"To go from being unwanted to being wanted is huge," Darnold said. "Getting that news that you're going to be traded, of a team saying, 'Hey, we didn't want you,' for whatever reason, is hard. But right now, I feel great about it, and I'm excited to get here and get started."