2021 NFL Draft: Zach Wilson a QB2 candidate behind Trevor Lawrence?

Could Zach Wilson really wind up being the QB2 in the 2021 NFL Draft?

The top three quarterbacks for the 2021 NFL Draft have long been Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.

As is typically the case, emerging players can drastically shake up preseason position rankings, even if they come from nowhere. In 2019, it was LSU’s Joe Burrow, who went from decent starter in the SEC to arguably the single-best season for a quarterback in college football history, en route to the Cincinnati Bengals with the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

BYU quarterback Zach Wilson has not been playing through tough SEC competition every week, but he has been making a substantial impression so far in the 2020 season and for the 2021 NFL Draft.

In six games, Wilson is completing over 78 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns, just one interception, and six rushing touchdowns.

Even without a signature game on the schedule due to BYU having to re-arrange everything because of COVID-19, Wilson has shown an NFL-caliber skill set and all-around game.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote a tremendous piece on Wilson and what he’s shown to NFL talent evaluators thus far in 2020, and he thinks there’s a chance that the BYU star could ultimately be considered QB2 in the 2021 NFL Draft behind Trevor Lawrence.

This is certainly noteworthy, because at this time a year ago, it would have been a bit presumptuous to talk about Joe Burrow as the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft as well, even though some people were projecting it.

Keep in mind, it only takes one team to have Wilson as their QB2 behind Wilson in order for him to actually be the second quarterback off the board.

The New York Jets and New York Giants hold the top two picks in the 2021 NFL Draft as of right now, followed closely by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins (via Houston).

It’s possible that any of those teams, save for Miami, would take a quarterback if given the opportunity, and Miami is probably only considering it if they have a shot at Lawrence.

Wilson may not be playing the greatest competition in the world, but he’s putting together dominant performances and had one of the best games of the season against Houston, the toughest defense he has faced.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1320215035650691074

It’s difficult to put too much stock into his opponents when he’s making plays like this, seeing the field like this, and showing pocket movement like this. When the bullets have been flying, Wilson has been making plays.

If he keeps this up, it’s not hard to think he could wind up as the QB2 for some team, or even a number of teams. And it’s not due to the fact that Justin Fields has shown poorly because in Ohio State’s season opener, he was terrific.

It could simply be that the opportunity to play this season at all is getting Wilson the NFL recognition that Trey Lance had hoped for this year at North Dakota State.

There may yet be questions about Lance’s game that aren’t being answered because the NDSU season was all but shut down, while Wilson has come out firing and making plays, asserting himself as a top-five quarterback in 2021 and possibly the next guy off the board behind Trevor Lawrence.