Passing judgment
After Lawrence, QB class boasts crop of potential elite game-changers
There’s no drama as to who will be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft.
So with the knowledge that Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, a Peyton Manning-like sure thing of a quarterback prospect, is going to the Jaguars to be paired with coach Urban Meyer in a college-meets-pros marriage, here’s a look at the other four quarterbacks likely to go in the top 10 of this year’s draft, which will begin Thursday with the first round held in Cleveland.
Zach Wilson The gunslinger
College: Brigham Young (2-plus seasons as starter)
Size: 6-2, 214 pounds
2020 passing: 3,692 yards, 33 TDs, 3 INTs, 196.4 rating
2020 rushing: 254 yards, 10 TDs
The reason Wilson is considered the consensus No. 2 pick: Aaron Rodgers. The reason the Jets, who hold the selection, might want to show at least a little caution: Johnny Manziel. Wilson has a strong and accurate arm, improvises well outside the pocket and has off-the-charts confidence — all the charisma and competitiveness that Rodgers and Manziel have in common.
But that approach yielded different outcomes for those two gunslingers in the pros, where Rodgers’ size and off-field steadiness were among the traits that made him more successful. Wilson’s daring didn’t work all that well against top competition in college, where he went 2-4 against top-25 teams, and it’s an open question whether it will work against disciplined NFL defenses.
Justin Fields The dual threat
College: Ohio State, transferred from Georgia (2 seasons as full-time starter) Size: 6-2, 228 pounds
2020 passing: 2,100 yards, 22 TDs, 6 INTs, 175.6 rating
2020 rushing: 383 yards, 5 TDs
Fields transferred from Georgia to Ohio State for his sophomore season in 2019 and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Lawrence and Clemson beat Fields and Ohio State in that season’s College Football Playoff semifinal, but Fields got his revenge the next season as the Buckeyes trounced the Tigers in another semifinal matchup.
Now Fields’ easiest comparison is to the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, another big-bodied pocket passer who can surprise with his running if there’s an opening. There’s no question that Fields regressed in 2020 compared to his breakout 2019 season, when he threw for 3,273 yards with 41 TDs against three picks. His labored release and tendency to hold onto the ball resulted in his taking sacks, but his arm strength and versatility, along with his strong effort against Clemson in a pressure-packed game, have turned the volume down on any questions.
Trey Lance The unproven star
College: North Dakota State (1 season as full-time starter)
Size: 6-4, 226 pounds
2019 passing: 2,786 yards, 28 TDs, 0 INTs, 180.6 rating
2019 rushing: 1,100 yards, 14 TDs
Lance hasn’t thrown an interception in a game since Oct. 13, 2017. After throwing only one pass at North Dakota State in his freshman year, he won the Walter Payton Award as the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision and led North Dakota State to an undefeated championship season in his lone year as a starter.
Lance is known as a film room addict with atypical passing mechanics abetted by a quick-enough release. His array of devastating play fakes, combined with his speed and power as a runner, give Lance a skill set that should translate at the pro level.
Mac Jones
The question mark
College: Alabama (1 season as a fulltime starter)
Size: 6-3, 217 pounds
2020 passing: 4,500 yards, 41 TDs, 4 INTs, 203.1 rating
2020 rushing: 14 yards, 1 TD
Having come to Alabama in the same recruiting class as Tua Tagovailoa, and with Jalen Hurts entrenched at starter upon his arrival, it took a while before Jones got onto the field. It didn’t take Jones long to prove himself. As a fill-in starter in the 2019 season he led the Crimson Tide to a 2020 Citrus Bowl win, and in his lone season as the fulltime starter he set a Football Bowl Subdivision single-season record for completion percentage with an eye-popping 77.4%.
Jones’ accuracy, his strong-enough arm and his ability to move around in the pocket (even if he almost never runs) make him an attractive prospect. There are questions, though, about the frantic nature of his play, his slow release, how he will improvise when his first option isn’t available and how much of his success was a result of his team having been comically loaded at every position on offense.