BYU’s Zach Wilson was selected by the New York Jets with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday, making the All-American quarterback the highest Cougar taken in the annual draft in program history.
In a strong quarterback draft, Wilson followed the Jacksonville Jaguars’ selection of Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first pick on Thursday.
Wilson is the first BYU player to be chosen in the first round since defensive end Ziggy Ansah was the No. 5 overall pick by the Detroit Lions in 2013. Wilson is the 10th Cougar in program history to be selected in the first round of the regular NFL Draft and the 12th overall including the NFL’s 1984 supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players.
From Draper, Utah, out of Corner Canyon High School, Wilson also becomes the highest drafted player who prepped at a Utah high school, topping Merlin Olsen (Logan HS) going No. 3 overall to the Los Angeles Rams in 1962.
Prior to Wilson, the last BYU quarterback to be drafted was John Beck in 2007, who was a second-round pick to the Miami Dolphins. Now working with Wilson as a quarterbacks instructor at 3DQB, Beck attended the draft with Wilson on Thursday along with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, offensive coordinator/QB coach Aaron Roderick and passing game coordinator/WR coach Fesi Sitake.
Wilson is the third BYU quarterback to be taken in the first round of the regular draft—along with Jim McMahon (1982, No. 5, Bears) and Marc Wilson (1980, No. 15, Raiders)—and the fourth first-round Cougar quarterback selected when including Steve Young’s No. 1 overall selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL’s 1984 supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players.
Wilson is the fourth Cougar to be drafted by the Jets and first since New York selected two BYU players in 1998 with offensive lineman Eric Bateman going in the fifth round and running back Dustin Johnson in the sixth round. Previously, BYU players drafted by the Jets were wide receiver Lloyd Jones (1981, 8th round) and defensive back Chris Farasopoulos (1971, 3rd round).
Wilson Career at BYU
A three-year starter before declaring early for the NFL Draft, Wilson played in 30 career games for BYU with 28 starts. The youngest freshman quarterback to ever start for the Cougars, Wilson finished his career going 566-837 for 7,652 yards passing yards with 56 touchdowns at a 162.91 efficiency rating. The athletic quarterback added 212 rushing attempts to his career stat line for 642 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Wilson was one of the nation’s most productive quarterbacks during the 2020 season. The veteran signal-caller finished the 2020 season ranked No. 2 nationally in points responsible for (264), passing efficiency (196.4) and completion percentage (73.5); No. 3 in passing yards (3,692), passing touchdowns (33), yards per pass attempt (10.99) and points responsible for per game (22.0); No. 4 in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (10); No. 5 in passing yards per completion (14.95); No. 8 in total offense (328.8); and No. 10 in passing yards per game (307.7).
In 2020 he earned Pro Football Focus All-America Second Team, Phil Steele All-America honorable mention, Co-Polynesian College Player of the Year and finished No. 8 in the Heisman Trophy voting. A team captain in 2020, Wilson was a Manning Award Finalist, Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalist, Maxwell Award Semifinalist and Davey O’Brien Semifinalist.
The 6-foot-2, 214-pounder achieved a 96.5 Clean Pocket Grade from PFF – ranking the highest in the nation and set a new PFF record with an overall passing grade of 95.5, topping Joe Burrow’s 94.9 in 2019. On his way to a hallmark season, Wilson broke the BYU record, previously held by Steve Young, for completion percentage, completing 73.5 percent of his passes in 2020 while also rushing for 255 yards and 10 touchdowns.
BYU First Round Draft Picks
With Wilson, BYU has had 10 players in the history of the program picked in the first round of the regular, annual NFL Draft and 12 when including the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of the USFL and CFL players.
BYU first round NFL picks historically include Wilson (2021, 2nd overall), defensive end Ziggy Ansah (2013, 5th overall), quarterback Jim McMahon (1982, 5th overall), defensive tackle Shawn Knight (1987, 11th overall), offensive lineman John Tait (1999, 14th overall), Marc Wilson (1980, 15th overall), defensive end Jason Buck (1987, 17th overall), linebacker Todd Shell (1984, 24th overall), offensive lineman Trevor Matich (1985, 28th overall) and linebacker Rob Morris (2000, 28th overall). Quarterback Steve Young was the top pick while tight end Gordon Hudson joined Young as a first-round selection going No. 22 overall in the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players.
BYU Quarterback Draft Picks
Wilson is the 12th BYU quarterback to be drafted overall in the history of the draft. Others include John Beck (2007, 2nd Round, Dolphins), Brandon Doman (2002, 5th Round, 49ers), John Walsh (1994, 7th Round, Bengals), Ty Detmer (1992, 9th Round, Packers), Robbie Bosco (1986, 3rd Round, Packers), Steve Young (1984, 1st Round NFL Supplement of USFL/CFL players), Jim McMahon (1982, 1st Round, Bears), Marc Wilson (1980, 1st Round, Raiders), Gifford Nielsen (1978, 3rd Round, Oilers), Gary Sheide (1975, 3rd Round, Bengals), Virgil Carter (1968, 6th Round, Bears), Dee Chipman (1942, 16th Round, Washington).
