Zach Wilson 6’2” 214 BYU JR*

Overview

An early entry into the 2021 NFL Draft as a true Junior. Will be 21 years old on Draft Day. Wilson has 28 collegiate starts to his resume. In 2020, he threw for 3,692 yards, 28 touchdowns & only 3 interceptions while completing 74% of his passes. To note: as a high school basketball player, Wilson averaged 15 points per game, 4.5 assists & 5 rebounds as a Junior PG/SG.

Trait Grades (Wilson)

Arm Talent (A-) Toughness (B) Anticipation (A-) Arm Strength (B) Pocket Presence (B-) Football IQ (A-) Ball Placement (A-) Intangibles/Off Field (B+) Touch (A) Delivery/Mechanics (A-) Running/Athleticism (A-) Throw on Run (A)

Tape Analysis (Wilson)

Wilson throws with natural anticipation & gets the ball out of his hand quickly. Throws with the best natural touch in this class. Has a very good sense of where windows on the field are & routinely throws with excellent timing & anticipation on a variety of routes (out-breaking, intermediate in-breaking, deep (post,fade) & quick game). Effectively uses eye-deception to hold FS during angle & body position of his initial set-up. Wilson is advanced for a QB coming into the NFL from an eye manipulation standpoint. He consistently moves & freezes under-coverage defenders in order to open up lanes to throw into. This is a refined ability even for high level NFL starters. Instinctively manipulates trajectory of his throws depending on coverage & leverage. Many have proclaimed that Wilson’s arm is near or at an elite level coming into the NFL however, his college tape suggests otherwise, particularly when compared to other prospects in this class (Lance, Fields,) Arm Strength is not a huge concern coming into the league but the ball can die at times on deeper fades & out breaking routes. As stated earlier, Wilson throwing with elite anticipation & liveliness often mitigates this lack of elite level arm strength. (His arm seems to be more than strong enough to be functional at the NFL level) Wilson has perhaps best combination of feet & vision in this class of QB’s. He is a smooth, natural athlete who has a rare ability to find lanes & windows to throw into, a nuanced ability I believe was developed by him being a high level playmaker as a HS basketball player. Has a very compact/efficient throwing motion. Can get throws off with immediacy. Instinctively throws receivers open while working both in & out of the pocket. Has the ability to throw to spots on the field to keep his targets safe against both zone (throwing away from defenders into holes) & man (putting great touch on the ball & hitting receivers in stride)Wilson throws with a high level of accuracy to all levels of the field. Shows the ability to be pin-point accurate off-script as well as he doesn’t need his feet to be perfect. Very loose & live with his arm on the move. Most natural passer in this class of QB’s (Mac Jones is second). Will look to run as a last resort & is very natural in this regard. Shows the ability to get out of bad situations easily due to his quick feet. Will take on defenders as well. Will have to learn to slide at the NFL level. Can throw with elite touch to running backs (swings, wheel). Rarely get passes batted down due to his ability to instinctively adjust his arm slot/trajectory. Outstanding awareness of under-coverage defenders as he routinely places passes away from them keeping his targets safe. Incredible internal clock on when to let the ball go across multiple types of throws.

Weaknesses

Comfortable & effective playing sandlot style when the coverage & rush call for it but Wilson has a tendency to overplay this part of his game. He relies upon random improv a bit more than he should. He needs to become more disciplined playing the game from the pocket late into the down & by this I mean he must not abort things too early just because he perceives pressure. He needs to get better from the pocket in terms of being more sturdy & calm & learning to take hits to the chin while not flinching. His athleticism & instincts to create got in the way of this at times while at BYU. Slight concerns about the level of competition he faced. Has a tendency at times to drop the ball near his hip during his motion can cause his elbow to be lower than ideal at the release point. Wilson will over-shoot his targets downfield when this happens.

Projection (Wilson)

We believe Wilson is a top 2 quarterback in the 2021 Draft Class. He has seen his stock rise similarly to what both Mark Sanchez & Mitch Trubisky saw during their college careers. Wilson as a passer is far ahead of where those two were coming into the league. He also has a better feel for defenses than both & is advanced with many of the subtleties of the position already. He needs to develop as a pocket player to a degree. If Wilson is handled correctly at the next level, he has the tools to develop into a perennial Pro Bowl player. If this happens, Urban Meyer will be regretting his decision to bypass Wilson at first overall in favor of Trevor Lawrence.

Trevor Lawrence 6’5 5⁄8 220 Clemson

Overview

Lawrence is one of the most hyped quarterback prospects our generation has ever seen. He burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2018 throwing for 3,280 yards 30 touchdowns & 4 INT while leading the Tigers to a National Championship. For his career, Lawrence passed for 10,098 yards, 90 touchdowns against 17 interceptions while completing 67% of his throws. Lawrence was a force on the ground as well & rushed for 983 yards & 18 touchdowns. Lawrence blends both athletic power & refined mechanics that make him a very unique prospect.

Trait Grades (Lawrence)

Arm Talent (A-) Toughness (A) Anticipation (B-) Arm Strength (A-) Pocket Presence (B) Football IQ (B+) Ball Placement (B+)

Intangibles/Off Field (A-) Touch (B) Delivery/Mechanics (A-) Running/Athleticism (A-) Throw on Run (A-)

Tape Analysis (Lawrence)

Plays the position with quick eyes. Very comfortable throwing with confidence deep down the MOF as Lawrence is very clean mechanically & his internal clock is consistently precise on these types of throws. Plus arm talent. Shows the ability to throw with anticipation while on the move (Corner and out routes) Quick release allows Lawrence to fit balls into tight windows between the hashes at the intermediate level but he does not seem to anticipate these types of throws but rather relies on natural arm talent. Very good mechanically from the shotgun in terms of getting the ball out with efficiency & suddenness. Lawrence flashes elite ability throwing the fade vs both pure cover 2 & man coverage (touch, timing, velocity) Has a tendency to stare down targets a tic longer than he should. He can throw with anticipation, but he does not do it regularly. Has a quick release but one that can get rather long at times.

Needs to take better care of the football in the red area. Multiple examples of him turning the ball over near the end zone. Lawrence threw two early red area interceptions during a 2019 road contest (Louisville) against zone coverage that confused him. He did however come back after those mistakes & made in-game corrections to take the check-down more regularly & thrown into zones on time with anticipation. Somewhat of a long strider when he navigates the pocket. He has adequate foot quickness/suddenness but his natural inclination is to be a long strider when doing so which causes him to get stuck vs good defensive lineman when trying to manipulate the pocket.

Needs better quick game eye manipulation
Very good athletic instincts.
Can adjust ball trajectory well.
Does not need a ton of room to get throws off. Shows ability to operate within a phone booth & deliver the ball quickly in the face of pressure. Speeds up delivery.

One cut runner, does not set up defenders well but does have great straight line & one cut explosion as a runner.
Very good mechanically from the shotgun. Feet, release, timing are ingrained into his make-up, especially when throwing down the field (seams, posts, deep outs) Shows adequate to good pocket presence, sliding evading pressure to buy more time. Can be a very accurate thrower of the football when he is decisive on where to go with it. Tremendous accuracy & timing throwing to deep middle of the field. Shows the ability to get the ball out of his hand fast in the quick game from the gun (mechanics, release)

Weak Areas

Struggles to naturally throw with great touch short, (checking down to backs or quick game which causes passes to get broken up at times.) Low release point considering he is 6’6”. At times Lawrence will have throws batted down due to this. Anticipation needs work. Struggles at times with anticipating windows in the intermediate areas of the field, other times does not though (inconsistent). Needs to really protect himself better as a runner as he does not have an ideal build to take the type of punishment he took in college at the NFL level. Long arms cause his motion to become elongated at times.
3⁄4 release which does result in batted balls within quick game. Feet get away from him too often, resulting in sack or incompletion (in-ability to quickly evade with elite foot suddenness/natural quick movement, long limbs cause Lawrence to look awkward at times.) Does not ad-lib great with his throwing motion. Motion stays the same no matter the type of throw.

Projection (Lawrence)

Expect Lawrence to be the first quarterback selected at #1 by Jacksonville. The hype surrounding him is legitimate & matches his overall skill-set. There are blemishes in his college film however. The highs are off the charts but the low’s do cause concern for me. There is development that still needs to be had. Lawrence is going to end up learning on the job as a rookie & has the potential to become a Pro Bowl level player that can be a franchise quarterback for years to come. If the things he needs to improve on such as consistent overall accuracy, patience for taking what is there in the passing game & anticipation do not end up coming to fruition for Lawrence at the next level he is going to be a player that will hold the offense back & ultimately will be shown the door at some point. If he does become successful improving these deficient areas, Lawrence will be a mainstay in Jacksonville for a long time because his god given physical ability is special. As we have seen over & over again though, high level NFL quarterback play is about mastering the minute details at the position, something Lawrence has yet to do.

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Trey Lance brings a unique skill-set for the position to the next level. He has many characteristics that entice (natural arm strength, pocket instincts & natural athleticism) We believe he is a better pro prospect than Trevor Lawrence for the long run. If Jacksonville has some cajones, they will think long and hard about taking him at 1. We go in-depth in the video below as we evaluate 21 of his collegiate throws.

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Trey Lance played in a pro-style system in Fargo that will help him transition to the next level. He was coached by former Tampa Bay Bucs QB (1970’s) & long time QB guru Randy Hedberg.

For in-depth analysis on Lance & the rest of the 2021 QB Class, purchase our 2021 Draft Guide

For in-depth analysis on Lance & the 2021 QB Class, purchase our 2021 Draft Guide

An evaluative look at the Georgia Tech game from 2020

For in-depth analysis on the 2020 Class of QB’s, purchase our 2021 Draft Guide

For in-depth analysis on the 2021 QB Class, purchase our 2021 Draft Guide

We look at a 2019 throw against Michigan that shows us the type of talent Justin Fields brings with him to the next level.

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Zach Wilson demonstrates subtle nuances rarely seen in quarterback prospects. We isolate a two-play sequence highlighting his football acumen at the quarterback position. For in-depth analysis on Wilson & the rest of the 2021 QB Class, be sure to pre-order your copy of our 2021 Draft Guide

An evaluative look at Trevor Lawrence during a 2020 contest against Virginia.

For in-depth analysis on Lawrence & the rest of the 2021 QB Draft Class, purchase our 2021 Draft Guide