NFL analyst Chris Simms drew quite a reaction when he was quoted as ranking Zach Wilson ahead of Trevor Lawrence when it comes to the futures of the quarterback class of 2021.
When Simms joined Moose & Maggie on WFAN on Thursday, he confirmed that he didn’t do so “just for the clicks” or to “buck trends” – he really believes Wilson is the better pro prospect.
“This is what I hate about the business. People tell me I’m trying to be a shock jock – I don’t care about social media, I want to be right, this is what I do,” Simms said. “I had Joe Burrow No. 1 last year, and Kyler Murray No. 1 the year before that.”
To be fair, Simms does like Lawrence, and said he expects T-Law to go No. 1, a position he is “worthy of,” but Wilson’s ceiling is just still higher.
“Lawrence fits the college-type system Urban Meyer is going to run in Jacksonville, but I think Wilson is the better player now, and think his potential is bigger too,” Simms said. “He’s the most pro ready maybe other than Mac Jones out of the group I looked at, and the most talented QB in the draft, and there’s a gap between him and Lawrence for me.”
So why is there such a gap?
“Wilson is like Rodgers, Mahomes, or Allen in what he can do as a pure thrower of the football. When his routes are open, it’s a perfect strike every time,” Simms said. “Where I’m big on evaluating QBs is seeing if they take advantage of what’s there to be had, and what they do if nothing is there. Wilson has an incredibly quick release and strong arm, and can throw from any angle. His mobility and athleticism is special and he doesn’t need a lot of room in the pocket to make big time throws, and when he does get out of the pocket, he looks to do so to buy some time, not to run. But, when he sees guys triple dog daring him to throw into coverage, then he’ll rip off a run.”
When it comes to the top three, Simms noted that Ohio State’s Justin Fields had some elite traits but was the “worst short-ball thrower” of the bunch because of what he terms a “sloppy arm” – and as for Lawrence, well, Simms turned around that “lack of competition” knock on Wilson’s schedule at BYU by noting that Clemson’s ACC isn’t exactly the 2007 NFC East.
“Throwing into tight windows and coverage is the same at every level, so Wilson will adjust to guys being bigger and faster. A lot of great quarterbacks played against crap universities and turned out okay,” Simms said, including his father (who attended Morehead State) in that group. “For Lawrence, size is a skill and he has a really good arm, but there are some mechanical things I see he needs to clean up. He gets a lot done with his God-given ability, but he misses more throws than you realize. It doesn’t matter at Clemson, because the game at times can be very easy for him when they’re clearly the best team on the field most of the time. He’s really damn good and a good athlete, but his arm is not as explosive, and he’s not as consistently on the money when things are clean.”
And so, when it comes to the Jets, Simms’ synopsis is clear: if the Jaguars do select Lawrence at No. 1, Joe Douglas should “sprint to the podium” to nab Wilson second.
“I’m a believer in Sam Darnold, and I do think he fits what Mike LaFleur and Robert Saleh want to do – but if I’m Joe Douglas, I’m sprinting to the podium to take Zach Wilson,” Simms said. “To me, he’s the absolute perfect fit for that offense. With the power in his arm off the play action, the movement and bootlegs – he can be, to me, everything Aaron Rodgers has been in Green Bay under Matt LaFleur.”
And with that, Simms also put to bed any thoughts Jets fans might still have about trading for Deshaun Watson, should that even be a possibility.
“Any Jets fan has to love Watson, he’s one of the best in the league, but the Jets have holes all over their roster and have so many needs,” Simms said. “If you trade away the No. 2 pick and not give up much else, then maybe you think about it. But what I look at, and where Joe Douglas comes from with great draft histories he saw in Baltimore in Philadelphia, is that I would not want to give up too many picks when there’s a gem of a player I can have at No. 2, and use the rest of my picks to fill in some big holes.”
Listen to Simms' entire segment with Moose & Maggie below!
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