2021 NFL Draft: Pro Day questions for top five quarterbacks

Top Question: What changed in 2020 that made Wilson improve so much from 2019?

Pro Day: March 26, 2021

Zach Wilson comes into the 2021 NFL Draft as this year’s surprise riser in the quarterback category. Heading into last year’s offseason, most would have expected Wilson to wait until 2022 to declare for the draft. After a disappointing and injury-riddled season in 2019, Wilson came into the 2020 season with a lot of question marks. Wilson proved his doubters wrong in 2020, leading BYU to a surprising 11-1 finish, the best record for the Provo, Utah program since 2009.

But it was more than just winning games that made Wilson look special last season. It was the way he was winning, making off-platform throws with accuracy and power. Every weekend Wilson was making the big-time throws that NFL offensive coordinators salivate over. Whether it was passing from the pocket or outside on the run, Wilson was deadly accurate downfield.

His improvements after 2019 are borne out even more in the stat column, increasing his seasonal touchdowns three-fold in 2020 from 11 to 33. His passing yards per attempt improved from 7.5 yards in 2019 to 11 yards in 2020. And finally, Wilson finished the season second in points responsible for, according to NCAA.com. That’s better than both Lawrence and Fields did in 2020, with a lot less to work with on the offense.

No doubt scouts will be impressed with Wilson’s accomplishments in 2020. But all this success brings its own scrutiny: what is it that Wilson did differently to exhibit such a striking improvement? Wilson showed promise in 2018 as a freshman but did not look this good. And while he dealt with two serious injuries in 2019, it’s questionable how much that affected him during the games he was healthy for.

There are some clues out there that (when taken in proper context) help explain Wilson’s improvement. Wilson did attend a quarterback camp during the offseason, taking tutorials and notes from top-tier NFL coaches and quarterbacks affiliated with the program, according to Deseret News. In the same article, it chronicled how Wilson would come back to Utah for more instruction during the weekends, working with personal trainers to increase his speed and processing. At one point, quarterback trainer David Stroshine (a highly sought after quarterback developer in the offseason) made a very prescient remark regarding Wilson’s training regime, published weeks before the 2020 season:

"“He (Wilson) focused on developing skills that have allowed NFL quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes to succeed”, Stroshine told the Deseret News last month."

That training paid off, as Wilson showed the type of improvements most college quarterbacks can only hope for in the offseason. Not only did he move faster and process the field faster, he became a whiz throwing outside the pocket on the run. Week after week he made the plays that have elevated the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in the NFL. Wilson has a lot of interested parties in the 2021 NFL Draft, as general managers are anxious not to miss the next Mahomes.

Training can help explain some of his skills, but it’s not a plebiscite on his overall improvement in 2020. Many NFL scouts may be worried that Wilson’s improvements may have been a one-year wonder: a product of good timing and lucky breaks that aren’t likely to be replicable in the NFL. General managers will want to be sure 2020 is Wilson’s floor and not his ceiling. There are plenty of ways a front-office can talk itself out of drafting a player, after all.

When Wilson meets NFL scouts at his Pro Day, he’ll need more than empty platitudes to explain this improvement. “Believing in yourself and trusting your teammates” may fly with media and fans. But general managers will want to know they aren’t risking millions of dollars (and their highly-pedicured careers) on a 21-year old junior who is not ready to lead an NFL offense.

If Wilson hopes to be a top-ten pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, he’ll need to explain in detail his method in reading coverages, measuring the field and decision making. He’ll need to convince NFL general managers that his 2020 season constitutes more than just the peak of his abilities and show that he can make the same big-time throws against NFL defenses.