With the NFL Draft less than a week away, there seems to be little drama surrounding the Jets and who they will take with the second overall pick.
After attending Zach Wilson’s Pro Day and trading Sam Darnold to Carolina, all signs point to Gang Green taking the BYU quarterback and trying once again to groom a new face of the franchise, and find some stability at the quarterback position for the first time in decades.
But while many consider Wilson to be the second-best quarterback in the draft behind Trevor Lawrence, ESPN’s Chris Fallica is wary that the Jets could find themselves in another Darnold-like situation.
Appearing on Audacy’s BetQL Daily, Fallica, also known as “The Bear” on College GameDay, highlighted Wilson when asked which draft picks cause him concern as the draft approaches on Thursday.
“I think just because of the team I root for and I follow in the NFL, the New York Jets, the player they’re being associated with, Zach Wilson, is someone I have a lot of hesitancy taking second overall in the draft,” Fallica said.
Wilson looked dynamic with BYU last season, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and bumping his completion percentage up from 62.4 percent in 2019 to 73.5 percent in 2020. The sudden rise in production was intriguing for multiple teams, including the Jets, but Fallica wonders if that drastic improvement was more about the product of college football itself last year rather than Wilson proving himself to be worthy of a top-three pick.
“I hope he succeeds, but I have a hard time taking the 2020 college football season and really putting a whole lot of stock into it,” Fallica said. “I think you need to go back and look. This year is as much of a guess as anything because of the ridiculousness of last year and the way the schedule seeped together and the players who played or opted out. Guys may not have played for two years.”
BYU was one of the teams fortunate enough to play a full season, allowing Wilson to pile up the numbers and significantly increase his draft stock. His performance at BYU’s Pro Day also seemed to help, with Wilson showing off an accurate arm from 60 yards while on the move, but those throws are much tougher to make with pads on while under pressure. He showed an ability to make those throws in 2020, but again, Fallica wonders if the circumstances around him played a part in that.
“If you look at Wilson, BYU’s schedule was 70th in the country last year in a COVID year,” Fallica said. “Two years ago, this was a guy who threw 11 touchdowns and nine picks with a QBR of 57. This year…he had 33 touchdowns, three picks and his QBR jumped to 89. Is that legit, a 32-point jump in QBR based on these odd circumstances? Is that real of a victim of circumstance?”
Fallica also noted the protection Wilson had in front of him last season, armed with an offensive line that helped BYU log the 15th-most rushing yards in the nation last season, even with a dynamic passer in Wilson.
“You look at the situation BYU was in with that offensive line, he had a tackle who was 24, a tackle who was 25, the center was 24,” Fallica said. “The youngest guy on his offensive line was 22. Just the circumstances of BYU, a lot of older players coming back from their Mormon missions and coming to play, just physically, these guys were so much bigger and so much mature and developed.”
Either way, the Jets will likely find out if Wilson is for real or not, as all signs point toward Wilson being handed a New York jersey by Roger Goodell on draft night.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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