The way has seemingly been cleared for BYU quarterback Zach Wilson to be taken second overall by the New York Jets in the NFL draft on April 29.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported Monday afternoon, and the deal became official soon after, that the Jets have traded quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round pick and second- and fourth-round picks in 2022.
For quite some time now, the prevailing thought has been the Jets would select Wilson, but an alternate idea was that they would decide to stick with Darnold and take a player with the second pick who could help him. That concept appears to no longer be in the cards.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have the first pick and are widely expected to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Alabama’s Mac Jones and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance are all signal callers who are expected to be taken in the first round as well.
In three seasons with the Jets after being the third overall pick in 2018, Darnold has started 38 games and completed 60% of his passes for 8,097 yards with 45 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.
New York went 2-14 in 2020. Wilson threw for 3,692 yards with 33 touchdowns against just three interceptions in 2020 as BYU went 11-1.