Zach Wilson

Zach Wilson was a three-year starter at BYU before deciding to go pro. As a freshman in 2018, he had 1,578 passing yards and 12 touchdown passes as he split some of the time at the positon with Tanner Mangum. He helped the team to a 2018 Idaho Potato Bowl victory and was named the MVP of the event in a 49-18 victory over Western Michigan. In his sophomore season, Wilson played in nine games again and finished with 2,382 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes. However, he would come up short in the Hawaii Bowl against Hawaii. He really stood out during his junior season. The Cougars only had one loss during the entire season and finished with a big bowl victory over UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl. Wilson finished with 3,692 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes – his best collegiate season yet.

He came into the draft as a relative unknown but shot up the draft boards after he went through his pro day circuit. It was good enough for the New York Jets to take him with the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. It immediately made Wilson the starting quarterback going into his rookie season, filling in for Sam Darnold – who was another highly touted quarterback going into his pro career but fizzled out thanks to a stagnant Jets offense that was never really able to get things going. The Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers and Wilson will come in to take snaps for the Jets. He was a prime Rookie of the Year candidate and is part of a young crop of quarterbacks representing the NFL’s future.