NY Jets: Chris Simms says Zach Wilson is ‘clearly the No. 1 quarterback’

The NY Jets could be eyeing one of the top quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft class with their No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft. And one of the players they’ve been most connected to has been BYU’s Zach Wilson.

The Jets led the race for Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence for much of the season even reaching an 0-13 record before rattling off two wins in their final three games. And just like that, any hope of landing the best quarterback in the class was over.

Or was it?

While Lawrence is widely viewed as a generational prospect and the best quarterback in the 2021 draft class, not everyone feels that way. Former NFL quarterback, and current analyst, Chris Simms is one of those people.

Chris Simms believes the NY Jets could land QB1 in Zach Wilson

Simms revealed his ranking of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class on Wednesday and certainly raised some eyebrows. Most notably, Simms didn’t have Lawrence — the consensus generational talent — as his QB1.

He had Zach Wilson. And apparently, it wasn’t very close.

Simms was quoted saying that Wilson “is clearly the No. 1 quarterback in the draft. There is a separation.” Those are strong words and ones that shouldn’t be scoffed at either.

It should be noted that Simms has been fairly accurate with his quarterback hot takes in recent years. Back in 2018, he labeled the top-three quarterbacks as Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield, with a sizable gap down to Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen.

At the time, he was called crazy. In hindsight, his analysis looks a lot more valid.

Of course, it’s hard to argue that Darnold and Rosen have failed because of their lack of talent as much as the poor situations they were placed in. Oftentimes that matters as much, if not more, than the actual talent a QB prospect possesses.

Nonetheless, Simms’ analysis turned out to be very accurate.

The former NFL quarterback didn’t end his 2021 hot takes with Wilson as his No. 1 quarterback. Simms also had Justin Fields as his QB5 and Trey Lance as his QB6.

Amazingly, Simms had Alabama’s Mac Jones ranked third and, of all players, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond ranked fourth — ahead of both Fields and Lance. Safe to say, Simms’ rankings don’t agree with most.

Only time will tell if Simms will be right again. But the hype is clearly real for Zach Wilson.

And if the Jets do decide to move on from Sam Darnold this offseason, Wilson stands a good chance at being his replacement.