BYU fans will have to figure out how to tune in to New York Jets games after the NFL franchise took former Cougar quarterback Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Wilson enters a situation in which he will start from Day 1, with the team trading away Sam Darnold — whom New York drafted No. 3 overall in the 2018 draft — earlier this offseason to the Carolina Panthers. That means Wilson, who prepped at Corner Canyon High, will be under the microscope from his first snap as a Jet.
His rookie season includes several matchups that should be intriguing. Here’s a look at five, in particular, that should draw plenty of attention from Cougar fans.
at Carolina Panthers
Date: Sept. 12, 11 a.m. MT, CBS
Wilson will open his pro career by facing the quarterback he is replacing in New York, Darnold, as well as his blind side protector at BYU. The Panthers selected former BYU and Bountiful High offensive tackle Brady Christensen in the draft’s third round.
There may also be a couple other former Cougar teammates there as well. Micah Simon, who caught passes from Wilson in 2018 and 2019, signed with Carolina this offseason after a big showing at BYU’s pro day, while linebacker Kavika Fonua got a mini camp invitation from the Panthers.
2 games vs. New England Patriots
Dates: Sept. 19, 11 a.m., CBS in New York; Oct. 24, 11 a.m., CBS in New England
This is (kind of) a cheat, since the Jets will face their AFC East rivals twice, so it’s really the top six games, not five. It will be a good test for Wilson, though, getting used to facing division opponents twice during the regular season. The first game against the Patriots will also be Wilson’s first regular-season game at New York’s home field, MetLife Stadium.
On the other side of the field will be another former BYU star, Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who’s headed into his eighth NFL season. Van Noy gave a shout out to Wilson when he was drafted.
vs. New Orleans Saints
Date: Dec. 12, 11 a.m., Fox
There’s the potential for late-season BYU vs. BYU quarterback matchup, with former Cougar Taysom Hill in a quarterback competition with Jameis Winston in New Orleans. The pair are fighting to retired All-Pro Drew Brees’ successor, and Hill is seeking his first starting job as a pro.
The last time two former BYU quarterbacks started a game against each other in the NFL was Nov. 10, 1997, when Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers beat Ty Detmer and the Philadelphia Eagles 24-12 in a Monday night game.
vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Date: Dec. 26, 11 a.m., CBS
Wilson will get his first chance to play the 2021 draft’s top overall pick, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, when the Jets host the Jaguars at MetLife Stadium in a post-Christmas matchup.
They’ll be the first quarterbacks taken No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the same draft to play each other since Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, the 2016 top draft picks who have gone 1-1 in matchups against each other.
Plus, former Bingham High defensive tackle Jay Tufele, who played at USC and was drafted by the Jaguars, will have his chance to take down Wilson.
vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date: Jan. 2, 11 a.m., CBS
This will be one of the toughest games of the season for New York, against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers. That includes Wilson facing 43-year-old Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner and future first-ballot Hall of Famer who is entering his 22nd season in the NFL.
Wilson was born in August 1999, just one year before Brady’s rookie NFL season.
Bonus: at Indianapolis Colts
Date: Nov. 4, 6:20 p.m., NFL Network
This is the Jets’ lone primetime game of the season, on a Thursday night. The Colts have one of the game’s better young stars in their secondary, former Utah and Layton High’s Julian Blackmon. In his first season in Indianapolis, Blackmon, a fourth-round draft pick, established himself as a playmaker from his safety position and started 14 games for the Colts.
Blackmon and Wilson faced each other twice in college, with Blackmon and the Utes sweeping Wilson and BYU. In their 2018 meeting, Blackmon helped Utah rally from a 20-point deficit with a 27-yard pick-six off Wilson early in the third quarter, as the Utes won 35-27.
Bonus No. 2: at Denver Broncos
Date: Sept. 26, 2:05 p.m., CBS
This will be the closest Wilson plays to the state of Utah all season, as the Jets face a Broncos program that is also searching to snap a long playoff drought.
Denver has a pair of Utah ties on its roster as well — former Utah offensive tackle Garett Bolles, who also played at Westlake High and Snow College, and former Utes wide receiver Tim Patrick.