At least one NFL team has Zach Wilson ranked as the best QB in the draft. Update: Multiple teams not only one!

[Jetsbb]

https://www.thedraftscout.com/p/scouting-notebook-sneak-peek

You think you know who the No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft class is, but does everyone agree with you?

We’ve been told for three years that Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is a football god, sure-fire first overall pick and the best prospect since at least Andrew Luck and maybe since Peyton Manning.

Lawrence is QB1. Or at least that’s what we’ve all been told and all kind of go along with. He’s great. Generational, maybe.

But not everyone sees it this way. In fact, as NFL scouting departments meet to stack their draft boards and discuss the upcoming class, at least one team has Lawrence as QB2.

So who the hell is their QB1?

BYU’s Zach Wilson.

“What he does as a thrower, and as a runner, is exactly where we are as a league right now. He throws some of those 50/50 balls with his shoulders square to the defense after running around in the pocket and I’m seeing Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech all over again.” — NFL College Scouting Director

Wilson, a three-year starter at BYU, improved each year in Provo; going from 11 touchdowns as a freshman to 33 as a junior while becoming one of the most electric players in college football.

A switch was seemingly flipped for Wilson, with the help of offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes (now at Baylor) as he combined to put 43 touchdowns on the board (10 on the ground) and limited his interceptions to just three after tossing nine in his 2019 sophomore season.

Wilson’s rise is not that different from Baker Mayfield (2018), Kyler Murray (2019) and even Joe Burrow (2020). His talent was known to the football world, but things came together for him in his third year as a starter. Football slowed down and his natural talents and tools took over.

But enough to replace Lawrence as the top quarterback in the class?

For at least one team, that’s the case. And maybe this is a club knowing they won’t have the opportunity to draft Lawrence so they’ve already mentally moved on to the next-best thing, but the more scouts talk about Wilson the more love you hear for his game.

Even if it’s something like him being QB1.

---

When talking about Wilson, there is one recent thing that must be addressed. ESPN’s Todd McShay—who does a wonderful job and is a trailblazer in this industry—said on the network’s Get Up program that Wilson wasn’t a captain at BYU.

 

The only thing is, Wilson was a captain. This may be a situation of more context being needed, as Wilson was not initially voted as a captain, according to a source with the program, but would go on to earn that title.

It’s right there in the photos. It’s all over the game film. Wilson with a “C” on his chest.

It is silly season in the NFL, though, and no doubt McShay was told by someone he trusts, “hey, did you know Zach Wilson wasn’t voted a captain?” And, while technically true, more information was needed since a comment like that can damage the reputation and draft stock of a player.

After all, we don’t want to spend the next two months wondering which teammates attended Wilson’s birthday party.

Update: It's multiple teams

 

[Jetsbb]

This is actually big. Up until now its all been tv analysts who don't know anything. For a actual team with a million scouts with nothing do do all year but watch film all day come away with Zach Wilson as QB1 even over a generational QB tells me Zach Wilson is legit.

[Jet Nut]

I find it hard to believe that anyone would draft Wilson over Lawrence.  

I don't care what some dopey article claims.

[Sarge4Tide]

[Beerfish]

No surprise. 

Lawrence is a very very good QB prospect and will go #1 overall.

He is also perhaps the most overrated QB prospect to come out in the last 20 years.

 

[HawkeyeJet]

Hopefully the Jaguars.

[flgreen]

I hope that team is the Jets.   

[UntouchableCrew]

6 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

I find it hard to believe that anyone would draft Wilson over Lawrence.  

I don't care what some dopey article claims.

Actually doing it is also different that just saying you think it. To pass on TL you're staking your reputation forever on the move.

[Lurker89]

[docdhc]

5 minutes ago, Sarge4Tide said:

It would be something if it’s Meyer who thinks Wilson is better. Does  Joe D pick Lawrence if he falls into our lap?

[GodDamnSnack]

4 minutes ago, flgreen said:

I hope that team is the Jets.   

Wilson is great, but I think Justin Fields is going to special. Every team that passes on him will regret it. Some of Fields' long balls float in the air a little too long, and he has a tendency to stare down his first read. If he can overcome these issues, I think he'll be winning a few superbowls.

[Jetlife33]

I’ve been trying to do a deeper dive on Wilson/Fields and haven’t looked much at Lawrence because he’s undoubtedly going #1. In regards to Wilson/Fields, is it just me or is Fields bigger, stronger, taller, faster than Wilson? Arm strength is comparable. Is the major knock on Fields his projected “slow processing” at the next level in terms of reading defenses? I do think Wilson probably fits better in the offensive system the Jets will be running, but I’m leaning towards Fields being the safer bet as far as who will be the better pro QB. I’m generally conflicted in what I want the Jets to do, I just hope they finally get it right. 

[JetPotato]

Just tell us who it is so we know which team will be trading up to #2 please.

[Jetlife33]

5 minutes ago, GodDamnSnack said:

Wilson is great, but I think Justin Fields is going to special. Every team that passes on him will regret it. Some of Fields' long balls float in the air a little too long, and he has a tendency to stare down his first read. If he can overcome these issues, I think he'll be winning a few superbowls.

I started falling into the Wilson hype a bit, but as I’ve started really watching some tape on Wilson and fields I’m finding myself leaning towards fields for some of the reasons stated in my previous post. Also, the level of competition fields was facing was much stronger compared to Wilson. I know there are stigmas for an Ohio state QB, and at the same time for Wilson there have been recent success stories for QB’s coming out of smaller schools. I just feel like when I watch the tape Fields is better. 

[Sperm Edwards]

5 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

Actually doing it is also different that just saying you think it. To pass on TL you're staking your reputation forever on the move.

Was going to say exactly this when scrolling down. 

Easy to say it when this guy/team is not going to be in a position to do anything about it, and isn't likely in a position to move up to #2 either. No one talks up a player that much and then proceeds to pick up a phone to ask what it'll cost to move up to get him. 

Just as easily as it could be the truth that this scout/team feels this way, it also could easily be someone who wants Wilson to go earlier so someone else drops.

Or the team in question is the Jets lol. 

[fullblast]

10 minutes ago, GodDamnSnack said:

Wilson is great, but I think Justin Fields is going to special. Every team that passes on him will regret it. Some of Fields' long balls float in the air a little too long, and he has a tendency to stare down his first read. If he can overcome these issues, I think he'll be winning a few superbowls.

Agreed. Fields is that guy everyone will look back on and realize they overthought it.

At this point I'd be happy with either of them, but my gut tells me Fields would be the better pick.

[#27TheDominator]

I keep hearing that Wilson's arm is stronger than Fields.  I don't know.  I'm not seeing it. 

[ljr]

i would bet this has something to do with his stating this point of view

---

 

https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/matt-miller-announces-his-post-bleacher-report-plans-including-a-substack-newsletter-and-a-tv-deal-in-the-works.html

Matt Miller announces his post-Bleacher Report plans, including a Substack newsletter and a TV deal in the works

Back in October, we reported that Matt Miller, Bleacher Report’s first and longest tenured paid writer, would be leaving the company. With the NFL regular season finished and Miller’s contract now concluded, Miller spoke with us on his plans going forward. The biggest announcement being the launch of his new Substack, which he wrote about this morning.

After a decade of covering the NFL and NFL Draft for Bleacher Report, it was time to change things up. This is that change.

No more ads. No more click-bait. No more videos popping up while you’re trying to read. And no more slideshows (RIP).

For those who want real, unbiased coverage of the NFL and NFL draft, this is where you want to be. There’s no boss to appease. There are no league partnerships to be mindful of. There will be real, informative, fun, entertaining coverage of the sport we all love and care about.

The Draft Scout will officially launch in February after the Super Bowl. The publication will start as a free service, but eventually will become a paid offering.

Miller is also aiming to announce a TV deal the coming months, but could not start those conversations until the exclusive negotiating window of his Bleacher Report contract ended. He assured me the conversations he was having were with larger linear and cable networks as opposed to a digital-only outlet, so perhaps you’ll see him contributing during a draft broadcast this spring.

This is just the latest example of someone leaving a larger sports media company and breaking their work up among smaller, more specialized platforms, a trend which was accelerated when Fox Sports initially shifted resources away from their website a few years back. Another example in the same mold is Shams Charania, who left Yahoo Sports and moved his video work to Stadium and written work to The Athletic

Specialized SubStacks and a surge of podcast networks have seemingly accelerated the trend of content creators having multiple platform-specific relationships in place. While larger sports media companies like ESPN and Turner continue to cut costs, this segmented approach will likely remain popular when talent moves on from one of those larger companies. However, it remains to be seen whether or not this is a viable path going forward.

 

 

 

 

[T0mShane]

Matt Miller said Pat Mahomes’ draft comp would be Blake Bortles and that he’d be drafted in the second round, but Mitch Trubisky was crazy talented and his top ranked QB in 2017.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2687975-nfl-draft-400-ranking-the-drafts-top-qbs

 

[Untouchable]

5 minutes ago, ljr said:

i would bet this has something to do with his stating this point of view

---

 

https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/matt-miller-announces-his-post-bleacher-report-plans-including-a-substack-newsletter-and-a-tv-deal-in-the-works.html

Matt Miller announces his post-Bleacher Report plans, including a Substack newsletter and a TV deal in the works

Back in October, we reported that Matt Miller, Bleacher Report’s first and longest tenured paid writer, would be leaving the company. With the NFL regular season finished and Miller’s contract now concluded, Miller spoke with us on his plans going forward. The biggest announcement being the launch of his new Substack, which he wrote about this morning.

After a decade of covering the NFL and NFL Draft for Bleacher Report, it was time to change things up. This is that change.

No more ads. No more click-bait. No more videos popping up while you’re trying to read. And no more slideshows (RIP).

For those who want real, unbiased coverage of the NFL and NFL draft, this is where you want to be. There’s no boss to appease. There are no league partnerships to be mindful of. There will be real, informative, fun, entertaining coverage of the sport we all love and care about.

The Draft Scout will officially launch in February after the Super Bowl. The publication will start as a free service, but eventually will become a paid offering.

Miller is also aiming to announce a TV deal the coming months, but could not start those conversations until the exclusive negotiating window of his Bleacher Report contract ended. He assured me the conversations he was having were with larger linear and cable networks as opposed to a digital-only outlet, so perhaps you’ll see him contributing during a draft broadcast this spring.

This is just the latest example of someone leaving a larger sports media company and breaking their work up among smaller, more specialized platforms, a trend which was accelerated when Fox Sports initially shifted resources away from their website a few years back. Another example in the same mold is Shams Charania, who left Yahoo Sports and moved his video work to Stadium and written work to The Athletic

Specialized SubStacks and a surge of podcast networks have seemingly accelerated the trend of content creators having multiple platform-specific relationships in place. While larger sports media companies like ESPN and Turner continue to cut costs, this segmented approach will likely remain popular when talent moves on from one of those larger companies. However, it remains to be seen whether or not this is a viable path going forward.

 

 

 

 

What kind of assh0le would pay to read Matt Miller’s newsletter?

[derp]

17 minutes ago, GodDamnSnack said:

Wilson is great, but I think Justin Fields is going to special. Every team that passes on him will regret it. Some of Fields' long balls float in the air a little too long, and he has a tendency to stare down his first read. If he can overcome these issues, I think he'll be winning a few superbowls.

I think one of his big issues is nicely summed up by the stat that pointed out his time to release was longer against the blitz than it was against no blitz. No bueno.

I absolutely think he’s very talented but I think he needs to sit for a bit. That tendency alone is something that NFL teams will exploit over and over, blitzing is pretty much the first thing defenses will try to slow you down until you show you can beat it consistently.

[peebag]

Joey D spreading fake news.

[undertow]

My cousin Lenny likes Mac Jones

[kelly]

[sec101row23]

Nobody gets all their evaluations right, but Matt Miller just spews stuff for attention.  He is just white noise this time of year.  

[Adoni Beast]

At least one NFL team (or twitter blogger posting this) is full of sh*t...

and that's coming from a huge Zach Wilson fan.

[Paradis]

1 hour ago, Jetsbb said:

This is actually big. Up until now its all been tv analysts who don't know anything. For a actual team with a million scouts with nothing do do all year but watch film all day come away with Zach Wilson as QB1 even over a generational QB tells me Zach Wilson is legit.

So you, the guy who tried to undress our local JN insiders, takes this “draft Twitter network”article at face value and believes that a team has Wilson ranked number 1, without a proday, private workout or series of interviews. No chance this is related to posturing or just plain bad reporting...

got it. 

[32EBoozer]

59 minutes ago, Jetlife33 said:

In regards to Wilson/Fields, is it just me or is Fields bigger, stronger, taller, faster than Wilson? Arm strength is comparable.

They appear to be equal in size. Now style is another issue that I give Field’s a strong advantage 

[sec101row23]

“At least one NFL team has Justin Fields ranked as the best QB in this draft class”.    See it’s easy.   

[Shockwave]

I definitely started understanding Fields game more and rank him much higher then before. 

With that said these are the exact kind of things we all want to see regardless of which QB you favor. When you see these articles/rumors:

*Chances Jax listens on the number 1 increases. 

*Chances we get Watson increases. 

As jet fans this just raises the value of our pick. Every Zach Wilson is Patrick Mahomes article is great. Every Justin Fields is Russell Wilson article is wonderful. Lets hope theres more of this. 

 

 

 

[JohnnyLV]

4 minutes ago, 32EBoozer said:

They appear to be equal in size. Now style is another issue that I give Field’s a strong advantage 

Just do not see it. Wilson's style is much applicable to the NFL in my view, he plays like a Rodgers or Mahomes (not saying he will be as good as either)

Fields plays like Watson, Newton Murray and LJ to some extent. 

I guess if you prefer that style you will like Fields. To me though when I look at the longevity of Brady, Brees and Rodgers I want someone who is more of a pocket passer so we have a longer career from him.

I am no draft guru, but to be honest most of my opinions have been pretty good on QBs. I did not like Watson much so maybe I just don't see that style but I will be shocked if Wilson is the not the best QB in this class (assuming a positive physical)

 

 

[fullblast]

1 hour ago, #27TheDominator said:

I keep hearing that Wilson's arm is stronger than Fields.  I don't know.  I'm not seeing it. 

What I see is their arms are about equal, but Wilson’s looks stronger because he has a quicker release. He also throws from off-angles without losing any velocity, which also tends to jump off the tape.

I also think that because he’s smaller than Fields the spin he does get on the ball *looks* more impressive.

[FidelioJet]

He will be the best QB to come out of this draft.

Winning those two games will be the best thing that ever happened to this franchise.

If we do the right thing to support him!

[GodDamnSnack]

1 hour ago, derp said:

I think one of his big issues is nicely summed up by the stat that pointed out his time to release was longer against the blitz than it was against no blitz. No bueno.

I absolutely think he’s very talented but I think he needs to sit for a bit. That tendency alone is something that NFL teams will exploit over and over, blitzing is pretty much the first thing defenses will try to slow you down until you show you can beat it consistently.

Just curious, why is that no bueno? To me it shows that he doesn't panic under pressure. I would be more interested in a stat that shows mistakes against the blitz vs. mistakes against no blitz.

[FidelioJet]

37 minutes ago, Paradis said:

So you, the guy who tried to undress our local JN insiders, takes this “draft Twitter network”article at face value and believes that a team has Wilson ranked number 1, without a proday, private workout or series of interviews. No chance this is related to posturing or just plain bad reporting...

got it. 

Teams do, in fact, have players ranked before pro days.  It’s a thing that happens and in all likelyhood there are more than one team that have him ranked higher than Lawrence.

Those rankings may certainly change after pro-days and interviews but teams have been rating these guys all season. 

Contrary to belief around here, TL is not a perfect prospect.   Neither is Wilson or Fields - but I can certainly see why a team can see Wilson as the better pro prospect.