NFL Draft Landing Spots For Former BYU QB Zach Wilson

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – On New Year’s Day, former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2021 NFL Draft.

Wilson is now weeks away from finding out the next step in his football career.

The former Cougar star announced his decision to leave Provo early and take his talents to the NFL with a social media post on January 1.

“After much thought, prayer, and consideration, I am excited to announce, that I will be declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft,” Wilson wrote. “I pray that I will always make Cougar Nation proud.”

COUGAR NATION pic.twitter.com/BLQtiKWygT

— Zachary Wilson (@zachkapono1) January 1, 2021

Teams are currently preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft and completing pre-draft work with college football standouts, including Wilson.

2021 NFL Draft First-Round Order

The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft will go in the following order:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Houston Texans)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. San Francisco 49ers
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (via Seattle Seahawks)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Green Bay Packers
30. Buffalo Bills

.@BYUfootball QB Zach Wilson intends to forego senior season, enter 2021 NFL Draft.https://t.co/KPNDIyt9i6 pic.twitter.com/E4FV76AiMF

— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) January 1, 2021

Picks 31 and 32 have yet to be finalized due to the ongoing NFL postseason.

ESPN’s FPI currently projects picks 31 and 32 as the following:

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

32. Kansas City Chiefs

These are the teams are potential landing spots for the former Brigham Young quarterback:

Jacksonville Jaguars

First-round pick(s): No. 1

2020 starting quarterback(s): Gardner Minshew, Jake Luton, Mike Glennon

Not likely. 99.9 percent of projections slot Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer pairing up in Florida. I agree. But what about that 0.1 percent…

New York Jets

First-round pick(s): No. 2

2020 starting quarterback(s): Sam Darnold, Joe Flacco

Could Wilson be the second player taken? It’s certainly possible with the changes happening with the New York Jets. After they finished the 2020 season with a 2-14 record, the Jets fired head coach Adam Gase. With a new head coach entering the organization, it will be interesting to see if New York sticks with Sam Darnold or moves in another direction with a guy like Wilson.

🚨 UPDATED 2021 MOCK DRAFT 🚨

2. Jets – QB Zach Wilson
6. Eagles – QB Trey Lance
11. Giants – WR Devonta Smith

Full Mock Draft ⬇️

— PFF (@PFF) January 8, 2021

Miami Dolphins

First-round pick(s): No. 3, 18

2020 starting quarterback(s): Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tua Tagovailoa

The Dolphins currently own a pair of first-round draft picks, including the No. 3 selection. Miami finished the season with a 10-6 record and barely missed the playoffs. However, the Dolphins might still have a quarterback situation on their hands. During the season, head coach Brian Flores started both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. Recently, some Miami players expressed concern that Tagovailoa wouldn’t be “great in the future. Drafting Wilson a year after selecting Tagovailoa in the first round would be shocking but never say never.

 

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Atlanta Falcons

First-round pick(s): No. 4

2020 starting quarterback(s): Matt Ryan

The Falcons are another NFL team searching for a head coach after firing Dan Quinn during the 2020 season. Matt Ryan is going to be 36 years old at the start of the 2021 season. Atlanta hasn’t had a winning-season since 2017. All these are reasons why the Falcons might press the reset button during the NFL Draft. The Falcons own a top-five pick and could be the perfect landing spot for Wilson. The young quarterback could come in and learn from Ryan for a year or two before taking over in “The A.”

Ok @AtlantaFalcons we got 3 good possibilities at QB for the #NFLDraft Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields or Zach Wilson.. or add 4th Trey Lance #RiseUpATL pic.twitter.com/6qX9VWq67I

— The Chosen One 🦍 (@WatUOnFoe) December 24, 2020

Philadelphia Eagles

First-round pick(s): No. 6

2020 starting quarterback(s): Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts

Another team looking for its next head coach is the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles struggled all season and bench quarterback Carson Wentz down the stretch. Rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts replaced Wentz and looked solid at times. Philadelphia has a lot of questions to answer this season but quarterback is one of the biggest mysteries. Will the Eagles look to trade Wentz? Is Hurts the long-term answer? Or does Philly know enough about both players to look at the draft and take a quarterback like Wilson inside the top 10?

Detroit Lions

First-round pick(s): No. 7

2020 starting quarterback(s): Matthew Stafford, Chase Daniel

A common theme with teams at the top of the draft in 2021 is a new head coach. The Lions, like others, are searching for a new leader. Detroit fired Matt Patricia in the middle of the season and has been playing mediocre football since 2016 when they last made the playoffs. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has played his entire career with the Lions but has only reached the postseason three times. The Lions last won a playoff game in 1991. Stafford is a solid quarterback but he needs more talent around him. I could see a team trading for Stafford and opening the door for the Lions to draft a young signal-caller. Another route, like Falcons with Matt Ryan, could be to sit a player like Wilson for a year or two and have them learn from a veteran in Stafford.

Carolina Panthers

First-round pick(s): No. 8

2020 starting quarterback(s): Teddy Bridgewater, Phillip Walker

Carolina moved on from former MVP Cam Newton a season ago. The Panthers ended the 2020 season with a 5-11 record under first-year head coach Matt Rhule. It was Teddy Bridgewater’s first season in Carolina as well. Although Bridgewater and the Panthers weren’t impressive last season, I could see them pushing forward with things status quo. However, Carolina will have a new general manager in 2021 and Rhule might want to see his team play differently in the seasons to come. Wilson would give the Panthers a young quarterback to build around and the chance to truly hit the reset button after only pushing it down halfway last off-season.

I want Zach Wilson now pic.twitter.com/PtKLytkDVq

— itzHookz 🍇🦊💫💫 (@ItzHookz) December 27, 2020

Denver Broncos

First-round pick(s): No. 9

2020 starting quarterback(s): Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien, Kendall Hinton

The Broncos quarterback situation was a mess throughout the 2020 season. Denver finished the year with a 5-11 record and started four different quarterbacks during its 16 games. Those changes came because of injuries as well as COVID-19. Drew Lock failed to cement himself as the Broncos’ quarterback of the future and Denver recently hired a new general manager. Denver is firmly in the market for a quarterback.

Dallas Cowboys

First-round pick(s): No. 10

2020 starting quarterback(s): Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, Ben DiNucci

I think that Dallas is the least likely landing spot for Wilson out of the 15 teams I’m listing. However, it’s not impossible to see the Cowboys taking a quarterback in the first round. Dallas owns the No. 10 pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and Dak Prescott is coming off a season-ending injury. Not only was Prescott significantly injured during the season but Dallas failed to reach a long-term deal with him before the season began. I think that the Cowboys and Prescott eventually come to terms on a new deal but in the event that they don’t, I could see Dallas loving a player like Wilson.

San Francisco 49ers

First-round pick(s): No. 12

2020 starting quarterback(s): Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard

The 49ers suffered a down year in 2020 after reaching the Super Bowl a season ago. San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a season-ending injury midway through the season, forcing Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard to see action. Niners general manage John Lynch hasn’t written Garoppolo off as the team’s quarterback of the future but just imagining Wilson with San Francisco has to be an idea that’s crossed the mind of head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Can we please see this 🙏🤙🔵 #GoCougs #49ers #BYU @zachkapono pic.twitter.com/FBKSAO2weS

— Jared R 🐐 (@GkJared18) January 5, 2021

Minnesota Vikings

First-round pick(s): No. 14

2020 starting quarterback(s): Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins has played the last three seasons with the Vikings and Minnesota has reached the postseason only once during his tenure as the team’s starting quarterback. Mike Zimmer has been Minnesota’s head coach since 2014 and has reached the playoffs three times. I don’t think the Vikings are ready to get rid of Cousins. After all, he was No. 8 in passing yards and No. 6 in touchdowns passes in 2020. However, I could see Minnesota drafting Wilson with the intention of sitting him behind Cousins for a season or two.

Oh future Vikings qb Zach Wilson plays against Boise St tonight? pic.twitter.com/3ZebBCXozQ

— Josh Mensch 👿 (@JoshMenschNFL) November 7, 2020

New England Patriots

First-round pick(s): No. 15

2020 starting quarterback(s): Cam Newton, Brian Hoyer

Tom Brady has gone to Tampa Bay and he isn’t coming back to the Northeast. Patriots fans wanted Bill Belichick to draft a quarterback last season and they’ll want him to do it again in 2021. New England started Cam Newton for the majority of the season and things didn’t go as well as Pats fans hoped. The Patriots finished with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. I thought Belichick was going to draft a young quarterback in 2020 and was wrong. I think he’ll do it in 2021 after the season the Patriots had but then again he could prove me wrong twice.

Zach Wilson Pats edit- will Zach fall to the Patriots in the draft? pic.twitter.com/FBaND5VaeQ

— Alex ✍️🖌 (@jjtaylorszn) December 24, 2020

Las Vegas Raiders

First-round pick(s): No. 17

2020 starting quarterback(s): Derek Carr

The Raiders missed the postseason for the third straight season in 2020. Jon Gruden returned to the Raiders in 2018 and hasn’t been to the playoffs in his second stint with the franchise. 2020 was the organization’s first year in Las Vegas but fans were unable to attend games at Allegiant Stadium. With all of the money owner Mark Davis has thrown at the Raiders, I’m sure he’s itching for success. Quarterback Derek Carr has been with the Raiders for his whole career, since 2014 but has only reached the playoffs once. At this point, Gruden knows what he has in Carr and that’s an average quarterback. I’d like to see what the offensive guru would do with a young quarterback talent like Wilson.

Washington Football Team

First-round pick(s): No. 19

2020 starting quarterback(s): Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith, Taylor Heinicke

The Washington Football Team reach the postseason in its first year under head coach Ron Rivera. However, the team played under a quarterback carousel the entire season. Dwayne Haskins started the season before he was benched for Kyle Allen. After Allen suffered a season-ending injury, former Utah great Alex Smith took over the WFT offense. Smith was unable to play in the final weeks of the regular season as well as Washington’s playoff loss. Haskins finished the regular season and was waived prior to the postseason. Taylor Heinicke started during the playoff game and performed well despite limited reps. I’d love to see Smith have another chance as Washington’s starter but Rivera and crew need to plan for the future as well. After the Haskins experiment failed following his two seasons, Washington needs to draft a quarterback of the future.

Zach Wilson in the B&G 👀@WashingtonNFL | @zachkapono pic.twitter.com/3KL0bjAer0

— DC Sports Experience (@DCsportsXP) November 7, 2020

Chicago Bears

First-round pick(s): No. 20

2020 starting quarterback(s): Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles

Another team that rotated quarterback in the 2020 season was the Chicago Bears. Mitch Trubisky was Chicago’s starter to begin the season before he was benched in favor of Nick Foles. Down the stretch, the Bears handed that offense back to Trubisky and ultimately made the playoffs. Chicago decline Trubisky’s fifth-year option and hasn’t given him many signs that he’s the quarterback for years to come. I think that the Bears would love to draft a quarterback like Wilson if he’s available at No. 20.

Indianapolis Colts

First-round pick(s): No. 21

2020 starting quarterback(s): Philip Rivers

Indianapolis bounced back in 2020 and reached the postseason under Philip Rivers, who was in his first season with the team. However, Rivers played under a one-year deal and will be a free agent this off-season. Rivers nearly retired last year and seeing him walk away now wouldn’t be a surprise. However, the Colts have said they want him back for another season. Even if Rivers returns, Indianapolis needs to plan for the future and that begins with the starting quarterback after Rivers calls it quits. The Colts drafted Jacob Eason in the middle of the 2020 NFL Draft but I don’t believe he’s the long-term solution in Indy. If the Colts were able to move up into the top portion of the NFL Draft and take Wilson they’d be ecstatic.

About Zach Wilson

Wilson passed for 3,692 yards and completed 74 percent of his passes during his impressive junior campaign.

The Draper, Utah native finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting for the 2020 season.

Wilson is currently in Southern California, where he is training in preparation for the 2021 NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft.

2021 NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft