Young would love watching Wilson
The 49ers have moved up to the No. 3 spot in next month’s draft, but after the show Zach Wilson put on Friday at BYU’s pro day, he might be off the board by the time they pick.
Among those in Wilson’s audience was 49ers general manager John Lynch.
“The game of football is changing, especially at the quarterback position,” Wilson told reporters afterward in his video call. “You want someone that’s athletic and mobile in the pocket and can make all the throws, but also extend and make things from different angles.”
That indeed is what the 49ers are likely seeking for coach Kyle Shanahan’s fifth season and beyond.
That play-making flair is what every team should want.
“I watch him and I want to watch more of him,” former 49ers (and BYU) quarterback Steve Young said of Wilson in a recent interview with the Bay Area News Group. “There are few guys I want to watch more of. He’s a good young player. He’s a hard-working, good kid.”
If Wilson is gone within the first two picks by the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets, the 49ers are apparently banking on a franchise-leading quarterback to still be on the board, such as mobile playmakers Justin Fields (Ohio State) and Trey Lance (North Dakota State).
Shanahan’s prototype his first four seasons was to have a tough, pocket-minded quarterback who could get the ball out quick on shortto-intermediate throws while directing a motion-oriented, run-dominant system. Alabama’s Mac Jones could be that guy.
Jimmy Garoppolo did that wonderfully in 2019, the only season of his career in which he played more than six games. His injuries (knee, 2018; ankle, 2020) doomed the 49ers.
So they vowed not to go bankrupt again in the quarterback department, and Shanahan acknowledged last December that he’s receptive to a more mobile quarterback.
“You start to see you can win football games with any type of quarterback as long as they are good enough and you can be good enough in hundreds of different ways,” Shanahan said Dec. 9. “So, I evaluate quarter
backs in terms of trying to find people who can have a chance to be one of those elite-type guys and there’s lots of different ways to do it.
“... You’re just trying to find a guy who is better than about 98 percent of the people on this planet or in this country and when you find that, you get him and you adjust to him.”
What makes Wilson better among his 2021 peers, including probable top pick Trevor Lawrence?
“There’s a lot of good ones. For sure, this draft is full of good players, a lot of good quarterbacks I’ve worked with in California, as well,” Wilson said.
“Something I feel that separates me is just my passion for the game. I really put a lot of time into what I do. Throughout all the years, I’ve really dedicated my life to football.”
The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Wilson passed for 33 touchdowns with just three interceptions his junior season to cap a three-year tenure with the Cougars. That eased concerns from his shoulder surgery two years ago.
Wilson is just 21, which makes some wonder how quickly a younger quarterback can seize command of an NFL franchise.
“He doesn’t come off as a Peyton Manning leading the charge, but I don’t know if he’s not,” Young said.
Wilson’s final pitch to NFL employers is as “somebody that can extend plays, somebody that can make something happen outside of the offense when things break down, is something I take a lot of pride in.”
Also in attendance Friday were Jets general manager Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh, the latter having been the 49ers’ defensive coordinator the previous four years.
Wilson said of the Jets: “Great staff, love those guys. Joe Douglas is a great guy and good to see him out there. They’ve got a good thing going.”
But if Wilson happens to slip past the Jets — they drafted Sam Darnold at No. 3 in 2018 — then he likely won’t be waiting long for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to announce his name on draft night April 29.
“I’d be happy,” Wilson said, “to play with any team that drafts me.”