The rising QB prospect the Minnesota Vikings should have their eye on
By Luke Parrish
BYU’s Zach Wilson is quickly becoming a fan-favorite for the Minnesota Vikings.
Coming into the season, the 2021 NFL Draft class was centered around three quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Trey Lance received all of the hype in the summer and even before that. But thanks to an exciting start to his 2020 season, BYU signal-caller Zach Wilson has now entered the mix.
Wilson has put the Cougars in the national spotlight in the early stages of the current college campaign and for good reason.
BYU has a stout defense and talented offensive line that has helped them dominate every single opponent on their schedule so far. Wilson, a Heisman Trophy candidate, is flying up draft boards with each ticking second.
What could Zach Wilson add to the Minnesota Vikings?
If you watch Wilson on television, he will not look like the 6-foot-3 quarterback that he is listed as. He plays much smaller than his listed size, but that does not mean he isn’t a really good signal-caller.
He possesses a cannon for an arm and he can deliver strikes from a variety of arm slots. Wilson also likes to throw on the move and mix up his looks when attacking defenses.
Arm talent is not something that just magically appears later in an NFL career. Quarterbacks either have dynamic arms or they do not, and Wilson does.
Viewers this year have walked away from each of his games even more enamored with him than the matchup before, which is not easy to do. He can make almost any throw on the field and he has flashed beautiful touch when he needs to add it.
Through eight games this year, Wilson is shredding defenses. He has 21 touchdowns through the air and eight more on the ground with only two interceptions. Oh, and he has done so while completing 75 percent of his attempts and racking up 2,511 passing yards.
Similar to Joe Burrow a season ago, Wilson has come out of nowhere and been the pride of college football so far. That also begs the question of whether he is a one-year wonder or is he a true NFL prospect? Based on what he’s displayed out on the field this season, Wilson is a first-round quarterback in the 2021 class.
The big knock on Wilson will be his level of competition, which is a valid concern to have. Lance, who had a remarkable career at North Dakota State, faces many of the same questions. Instead, teams should look at how these quarterback prospects succeed and what they do that makes them stand out among their peers.
How exactly Wilson would fit with Minnesota is a little difficult to figure out, especially considering Kirk Cousins‘ contract situation and the team’s lack of a guaranteed need for a quarterback. Wilson is also likely to rise beyond Minnesota’s reach in next year’s draft when things are all said and done. But he would be a fun addition to an already exciting Vikings offense.
Adding a dual-threat quarterback to an offense that includes Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and a young offensive line would potentially make Minnesota’s offense dangerous for the next decade.