Why Zach Wilson is the Right Choice For the Jets at No. 2

The New York Jets will pick BYU quarterback Zach Wilson in the NFL draft on Thursday. Former NFL head coach Jim Mora weighs in on why Wilson is the right choice

It's the day Jets fans have been waiting for since the early parts of last year's regular season.

New York picks second in the NFL draft on Thursday and will have a chance to turn this franchise around. If general manager Joe Douglas and this team can hit on at least a handful of their picks, New York can take a big step toward ending a decade-long postseason drought.

The Jets have plenty of picks over the next three days, but that selection second overall is certainly a big one. After trading away Sam Darnold this offseason, all signs point toward New York drafting a quarterback, a position this team hasn't exactly had overwhelming success with when picking one in the first few rounds.

Trevor Lawrence won't be available, as the Jaguars are expected to scoop up the presumptive No. 1 overall pick, but BYU quarterback Zach Wilson will be there for the taking.

You've been bombarded with mock drafts this offseason featuring Wilson going second to New York. It's not a done deal necessarily, as anything can happen on draft night, but it's the kind of pick you can use a sharpie for on your mock draft boards at home.

So, what is it about Wilson that makes him worthy of the second overall selection in a draft with several top quarterback and talented prospects on both sides of the ball?

Former NFL and college head coach Jim Mora weighed in, telling Jets Country in a recent interview exactly why Wilson is the right guy for Gang Green:

I think he's a great decision maker and I always revert back to that when I'm talking about quarterbacks because if a quarterback can't make the right decision with the football, and he's turning it over, or he's doing something silly during a game or even off the field, then he's a detriment to your organization. But I think with Zach, you see a guy who's a really good decision maker. He doesn't throw interceptions, he's careful with the football, he knows when to be aggressive and he knows when to throttle back and just make the easy throw, the dump down throw. I love his mobility and his ability to throw accurately in whatever position his body is in, whether he's rolling out to the right, rolling out to the left, moving towards the line of scrimmage, in an awkward position with his upper body, he still seems to make accurate throws. I think he throws a very catchable ball. I think he throws with tremendous accuracy and touch. I don't think there's a throw on the field that he can't make. I think that's a good pick. I also think that he's got a level of maturity when you watch him play and you watch his demeanor on the field that projects well to the next level, especially in a really tough market like New York where people are going to be very critical and I think just because of the history of the Jets, the recent history, there's going to be hope but there's also going to be some hesitation to just believe that this is the right guy. I think he can handle that.

Sounds like Wilson is a great investment for this franchise to make with the No. 2 pick both with his abilities on the field and his mentality off of it.

The one possible caveat here, as noted by Mora, would be the lack of competition Wilson faced at BYU, along with the fact that Wilson had only one stellar season in Provo. 

That may be a one-year deal from a production perspective, but all prospects are different coming out of college, facing a variety of opponents along the way. For a coach that's been on both sides of draft evaluations—saying goodbye to top college prospects and evaluating which ones to pick—Mora sees Wilson as a great fit in green and white.

"If you're looking at skill set, he's certainly worth that number two pick," Mora said.

MORE:

• What History Says About the Jets' Likelihood of Drafting a Running Back 
• Why the Jets May Take an Edge Rusher in First Round of NFL Draft
• The 'Sky is the Limit' For the Jets' Defensive Line

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