He's probably one of those crazy mormons who believes he gets 50 sheep in Heaven on a mountaintop outside Salt Lake or some shit.
The couple of things I noticed from the highlight reel, aside from the great protection and lost of very open receivers: 1) He has a stronger arm than I thought and has good pocket presence...You can see him go through his reads which is great, but you wonder if he can do it in less time as he'll have a lot less time to make the correct read in the NFL than what I saw in his bowl game and on this video...But a good sign for sure 2) He's not just mobile and elusive in the pocket, he's actually fast and a good runner. Take the BYU connection out of it, he's got a bit of Steve Young in him as a runner, similar strong arm and can throw on the move, runs more like a running back so to speak than like a QB. Difference from Sam I suppose, who's also very good on the move, is that this kid can throw from the pocket also albeit again with a lot of time to do so from what I've seen... 3) Talk about armchair amateur scouting with no skill to do so, but to me he looks like he's got moxie...he looks fearless even in the few times the rush was bearing down on him. He was continuously looking to throw the ball and not just pull the ball down and take off. He was aggressively looking to throw downfield too but not to a reckless degree. It's sad as I can't remember if Sam had that prior to the Jets destroying him... 4) From a few things I've read and heard on this tape, they mention his height a bit in the context of "don't worry about his height, this kid can play" type of thing...I've seen it and heard it enough to make me think he's probably closer to 6'1" than 6'3"....Height usually isn't a thing that's mentioned if a QB is a true 6'3"...All that said I could care less if the kid can play. 5) It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the 4+ months to the draft and related buildup to it. TL is such an incredible prospect who's been constantly talked about for years as going #1 in this draft, there will be 4 months of dissecting even his smallest defects if there are any...To build intrigue, then there will be the building up of someone to close the gap as the #2 QB prospect (let's call it the Mayfield affect)...One thing I know is that guy isn't Fields and am getting a sense it will be Wilson. Will be interesting to see how the combine goes and what he looks like after he's dissected in a million different ways, but so far he's definitely someone to watch as a possible Jets pick if they're looking QB with their first pick.
This analysis I feel is spot on: Some great potential there to be sure with big arm and mobility, but some red flags as well. Size, as some mentioned on this board (may not be true 6'3 and light), injury history on throwing shoulder, and had only one good year against very weak competition, playing with clean pocket and never really put under duress. Still like him as a prospect along with Fields even at #2, but more evaluation needs to be done by the Jets via private visits, combine results, workouts. The guy might become a player in NFL. To be fair, it does not make me feel better about losing Lawrence, who basically has all the positives and then some with none of the negatives/red flags, but I do have a feeling that this is a good QB class, and at least one of the non-TL guys will be a stud too. We will have a first shot to pick the right one if not TL himself, and Zach is definitely on the short list.
His highlights look good he moves very well..but he just doesn’t have enough of a resume to take him with the number two pick.. perhaps between now and the scouting combine he’ll change peoples minds ....right now the #2 pick in the draft I don’t think so.. that’s reaching ..but willing to keep a eye on him... I like Wilson better than fields that’s for sure
Just for fun, watch this guy: First vid above is his career highlites....but this next vid is just one game, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sam duels it out against Penn State and Sequan Barkley in the Rose Bowl. Sam struggled early and his team was down big late, but Sam heroics paid off. His go to WR JuJu Smith-Schuster may be headed our way in FA this spring! Take a look at him too.
I’ve been on the Wilson train for a while now, since I realized we had to lose all of our games to retain the #1 pick. It was very unlikely, garbage as we are, so I started looking for alternatives. The way I see it, he could be good as if not better than TL. It’s a good consolation prize with a high upside. He’s got moxy, a good arm, is pretty accurate. His deficiencies seem coachable to me. Whatever happens, I’m pretty sure JD will get us a QB and we still aren’t out of the running for #1. It’s just time for people to accept he’s who we might end up with.
Like all the others, it's a highlight reel but I can't help but think what we really need is a coaching staff that can resurrect this guy. Speaking of highlight reels, watch last years tape of James Morgan then read the scouting reports. Eerily similar to Zach Wilson.
If that’s the case, and Morgan is a JD pick, it sounds like JD would go for Wilson at #2. It would make sense to have two similar QBs, if one goes down...put the other guy in with fewer adjustments.
From the very little I have watched of Wilson what really stands out to me is the pressure he puts on a defense when running the football. I am curious to see where he lands in the draft. I see many mocks with him going 2nd or top 10 then I see Charlie Campbell having him going late in round 2. The criticisms I have read of him in scouting reports is holding the ball to long and being too slow going through his progressions. My guess is he ends up top 10. He sure looks better than Fields to me. I am curious to see where he Fields and Lance end up.
The funny thing about that highlight reel is Sam is still pretty much the same QB. He has just had a terrible cast and coaching staff around him, so there has not been much progression. If I was a rival scout or Coach, I would look at that tape, plus his 3 seasons as a Jet, and see there is still something there.
I'm glad you posted this. It clearly shows that Darnold USED TO HAVE great attributes...before the Jets got their hands on him. Watching this, you see him go through his reads, and make accurate passes, including deep throws. The question is: is all that talent now gone? In any case, this does serve as a "sanity check". Thanks!
I won't speak for anyone else, but when I mention Mahomes in connection with Wilson, it's more about how they both play the game in a similar fashion, but that Wilson does NOT have the arm of Mahomes.
I really liked what I saw in his last game but we need to pump the breaks a bit. There are some definite concerns with Wilson that can't be ignored just because we're dying for an acceptable TL replacement to get excited about. The shoulder injury is a concern, as is the lack of multiyear production and lack of competition. He's not 6'3 but I don't care about that, he's 6'1 or 6'2 at least - tall enough. He seemed very accurate and with a strong enough arm. He definitely goes through progressions and seems to do so quickly. Good ball placement, usually where only the receiver can get it. More quick than fast but that's more important for a QB anyway. I'm not sure if I like him more than Fields. I know we all have a bad taste in our mouths regarding Fields' last couple games but he's quite a good prospect in his own right. Production off the charts against good competition, very accurate with an effortlessly strong arm. I'm definitely a bit concerned about Fields' mental makeup and there's a fear that any QB would have success in his system because their coach is great at scheming guys open. In the couple games I watched of him he had a handful of Darnold-like moments that terrified me, throwing into triple coverage etc. Fields is built very sturdily and is a very good athlete. He's fast and isn't afraid to use his legs and strength. These are good things to have but again, there are some questions about the processing speed which I think is 10x as important as the ability to run.
At the end of the day--we need safe picks that are going to fill roster spots and perform. At this point, I think I get a HOF talent Penei Sewell, he's a generational talent at tackle. Then we sign a Thuney in FA and we have maybe the best line in football. We were always in games during the Mangini/Rex years because of that nasty Oline. This line would be better IMO. Potentially two HOF level tackles a solid center and at least one All Pro guard. It's a different route, but then we know what we have in Sam and if he doesn't work out--we can just insert whoever that guy is going forward. An elite Oline is hard to beat.
