National Football League

New York Jets should be all-in on BYU's Zach Wilson with the No. 2 pick

Updated Jul. 20, 2021 8:51 p.m. ET

By Jason McIntyre
FOX Sports Betting Analyst

Two massive NFL trades impacting the top 10 of the 2021 NFL Draft had a ripple effect throughout the league Friday, except for one team in need of a QB: the New York Jets.

The Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles are all jockeying for the ability to take a QB in this year’s draft — or in 2022, in the case of Philadelphia — but they’re doing so with the thought that Trevor Lawrence is going No. 1 to Jacksonville and Zach Wilson is going No. 2 to the Jets.

Wilson wowed football observers at his pro day Friday — to be clear, every QB should look incredible throwing in a comfortable setting with no defense — and the overwhelming sentiment is the Jets will take the BYU quarterback with the second pick. I’ve had him there in my mock drafts since January.

Between his anticipation and decision-making, his accuracy (73% completion last year) and his deep throwing ability, Wilson checks all the boxes for a franchise QB.

Granted, it isn't always about production when evaluating QBs; traits matter. But for those who obsess over the numbers, Wilson was 20-of-27 on passes of 30-plus yards downfield at BYU.

The Jets have never had a franchise QB.

Sure, I’ll accept some version of "What about Joe Namath?" because he won a Super Bowl in 1968, but that was before the AFL-NFL merger. Plus, between injuries, interceptions — Namath led the NFL in picks four times — and losses (60-61-4), it’s difficult to call a legend from more than 50 years ago the most recent franchise QB.

Zach Wilson should change that when he goes No. 2 in the draft.

Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports gambling analyst, and he also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. He joined FS1 in 2016 and has appeared on every show on the network. In 2017, McIntyre began producing gambling content on the NFL, college football and NBA for FOX Sports. He had a gambling podcast for FOX, "Coming Up Winners," in 2018 and 2019. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead, which he sold in 2010.