Report: Multiple NFL Teams Rank Zach Wilson Higher On Draft Board Than Trevor Lawrence

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – More than one NFL team placed former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson higher on their draft board than Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, according to Optimum Scouting’s Eric Galko.

“There are *multiple* NFL teams that have Zach Wilson above Trevor Lawrence,” Galko tweeted on February 17. “Mahomes and Kyler comparisons made for sure, as @nfldraftscout mentioned. They are in the same tier for many teams. And I lean Wilson too.”

@nfldraftscout is the Twitter account of NFL draft scout and insider Matt Miller.

A day prior to Galko’s post, Miller wrote about Wilson and Lawrence.

There are *multiple* NFL teams that have Zach Wilson above Trevor Lawrence. Mahomes and Kyler comparisons made for sure, as @nfldraftscout mentioned.

They are in the same tier for many teams.

And I lean Wilson too. https://t.co/XlHebifCmT

— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) February 17, 2021

Many NFL experts predict that the Jacksonville Jaguars will select Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s 2021 NFL Draft. However, Miller wrote that not every NFL team feels that Lawrence would be their selection if they owned the top pick.

“You think you know who the No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft class is, but does everyone agree with you?” Miller wrote. “Lawrence is QB1. Or at least that’s what we’ve all been told and all kind of go along with. He’s great. Generational, maybe. But not everyone sees it this way. In fact, as NFL scouting departments meet to stack their draft boards and discuss the upcoming class, at least one team has Lawrence as QB2.”

https://t.co/wzbkAxvcJV

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) February 17, 2021

That team’s QB1 is the junior signal-caller out of BYU.

“What he does as a thrower, and as a runner, is exactly where we are as a league right now,” an NFL College Scouting Director told Miller of Wilson. “He throws some of those 50/50 balls with his shoulders square to the defense after running around in the pocket and I’m seeing Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech all over again.”

Miller compared Wilson’s meteoric rise up draft boards to that of Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns – 2018), Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals – 2019), and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals – 2020).

Zach Wilson has gone from an injury-riddled year a season ago, to Joe Burrow-like rise in the #NFLDraft conversation.

A lot of the credit for Wilson goes to his QB coach, Aaron Roderick.#BYUFootball @kslsports

📲💻: https://t.co/PQ4QuQ3BVi pic.twitter.com/pp39s4cn3H

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 20, 2020

“His talent was known to the football world, but things came together for him in his third year as a starter,” Miller wrote. “Football slowed down and his natural talents and tools took over.”

Former NFL greats agree

Not only do multiple teams reportedly think that Wilson is a better selection than Lawrence but so do a couple of former NFL standouts.

In early February, former NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion quarterback Joe Theismann told CBS Sports that he’d take Wilson first.

“Honestly, yes. Yes. Real close,” Theismann said when asked if he’d draft Wilson before Lawrence. “We’re sort of splitting hairs a little bit here. But yeah, I would as a matter of fact.”

Zach Wilson over Trevor Lawrence?

Former NFL MVP Joe Theismann breaks down why he thinks the BYU gun-slinger is the best QB in the draft.@AmandaGuerraCBS | #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/QE6Z8XO1KL

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) February 3, 2021

Less than two weeks later, three-time Super Bowl champ Mark Schlereth said he’s “not so sure” that Lawrence is a better pick than Wilson.

“I watched some Zach Wilson film this weekend because it was 18 below zero and I don’t have anything else to do. I’m not so sure that I wouldn’t take Zach Wilson over Trevor Lawrence,” Schlereth said.

"I was really impressed.” – @markschlereth after watching film of Zach Wilson.#LocalsInTheNFL #YACPodcast #BYU #GoCougs #BYUFOOTBALL #NFL #NFLDraft

📰: https://t.co/693YwaQmPR
🎙: @1043TheFan
📷: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/ERgayN8Fl7

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 16, 2021

Odds are high that Lawrence will still be the Jaguars’ pick at No. 1. However, the hype for Wilson at No. 2 is becoming more and more solidified as April approaches.

“For at least one team, that’s the case,” Miller added. “Maybe this is a club knowing they won’t have the opportunity to draft Lawrence so they’ve already mentally moved on to the next-best thing, but the more scouts talk about Wilson the more love you hear for his game. Even if it’s something like him being QB1.”