Zach Wilson’s performance at BYU’s Pro Day last month “cemented” his standing as the Jets’ second overall pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft, according to general manager Joe Douglas. It also produced a viral video viewed nearly four million times, which showed Wilson firing a 60-yard strike to the middle of the field while moving to his left.
Wilson didn’t know how impactful that throw would be at the time, but it certainly played a direct role in landing him in East Rutherford to become the Jets’ latest hope for a franchise quarterback.
“I saw it [went viral] after,” Wilson told Carton & Roberts on Friday. “I wasn’t expecting it to. Going into the Pro Day, the goal is really just to show why I felt like I was different. Obviously there are a lot of talented quarterbacks in the NFL, but that was something I felt was unique to me as a player, and I just wanted to show the type of throws I can make.”
Wilson showed the people that mattered, including Douglas and Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who also directly noted Wilson’s Pro Day performance as a major factor in picking a quarterback that would best fit his offensive scheme. In short, that Pro Day performance altered the course of Jets history, leading Gang Green to ship previous top-five draft pick Sam Darnold to the Panthers to start anew with the 21-year-old Wilson.
“I knew it was important,” Wilson said. “I didn’t put more pressure on it than it needed. I knew it was an important event and we prepared for it for a long time. It was really just an opportunity to get in front of the coaches and show them who you are as a person and what you really have. It was a blast to be able to go out there with my receivers one last time, the guys I’ve been throwing to the last three years and be able to put something together out there on the field.”
Wilson gained plenty of momentum as a top quarterback prospect well before that Pro Day, raising his quarterback rating by 36 points from his junior to senior year, his completion percentage by 11 percent (to 73.5), while throwing for 33 touchdowns and just three interceptions, setting school record while his draft stock continued to rise.
“I just felt like I had something to prove,” Wilson said. “My sophomore year I felt like I could have done better coming off of two injuries with a broken hand and a shoulder that I got repaired the year before, I felt like I had to prove I was capable of being the starting quarterback for BYU…and that I could prove to be one of the better quarterbacks in the country.”
Now, Wilson begins the next chapter of his career with a franchise looking to turn the page once again. Wilson, a Utah native, didn’t have Jets games to watch growing up, nor did he have a favorite team. He grew up idolizing Aaron Rodgers and, to the likely dismay of Jets fans, Tom Brady, but what drew him to Brady will likely sit will with New York fans who are starved for a consistent winner.
“There’s nothing super flashy about Tom, but he wins,” Wilson said. “I think he was always one of my favorites to watch because we all play this game to win…and that guy has done it better than anybody.”
The Jets are far from done making changes to a roster that went 2-14 last season, and still have seven picks left in this weekend’s draft. But Wilson already feels like the pieces are in place to take the franchise out of its losing ways.
“Really, I’ve seen changes every single year…there’s new coaches, new players, new staff,” Wilson said. “I’m just excited about what we have going forward into the future. The coaches we have, the players that are here on this team right now is all we need to make this special.”
Listen to Wilson’s full interview with Carton & Roberts below!
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