Peter King: Zach Wilson’s BYU Career Was In ‘Extreme Jeopardy,’ ‘He Did Something About It’

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – NBC Sports’ Peter King said he admires the way that former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson took a college career that was in “extreme jeopardy” and “did something about it.”

King discussed Wilson and the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft during a recent episode of the Yards After College Podcast.

“He did something about it”

During the quarterback’s sophomore season, it became clear that Wilson hadn’t fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. In the middle of the season, another setback arrived and Wilson was sidelined for a few games with a thumb injury.

Despite those challenges, Wilson welcome an quarterback competition with Jaren Hall and Baylor Romney prior to the 2020 season. Wilson won the starting job and led the Cougars to an 11-1 record.

In my conversation with the NFL expert, King listed a number of Wilson’s traits that he respects.

“The biggest trait Kyle, that if I were an NFL coach, general manager, scout, I would say I really admire, first of all, I admire how he throws,” King said. “I admire his athleticism. I admire his ethos, that in March of 2020, his career was in extreme jeopardy, and he did something about it. That’s what I think is exceedingly important with Zach Wilson.”

Comparisons to Patrick Mahomes

In the weeks and months since BYU’s 2020 season came to an end, a handful of analysts have compared Wilson to NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers or Super Bowl LIV MVP Patrick Mahomes.

I asked King if those comparisons were accurate or if they were “lofty expectations” setting Wilson up for failure at the next level.

“The throw he made running to his left in his Pro Day and the throw that traveled about 56 yards in the air and was dropped absolutely right into a bucket way down field to his receiver is a Mahomes type throw. It just is,” King responded. “There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘This guy reminds me of Mahomes.’ There’s nothing wrong with that. But I think all of those comparisons have to really be done cautiously.”

"The throw that traveled about 56 yards… dropped absolutely right into a bucket way down field to his receiver is a Mahomes type throw. It just is." – @peter_king on comparing Zach Wilson to Patrick Mahomes#LocalsInTheNFL #YACPodcast #GoCougs #BYUFOOTBALL
📷: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/evn0zyC4HA

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 30, 2021

Only days before my conversation with King, Wilson set social media on fire with the Mahomes type throw.

“The whole thing is, as as you saw the other day with Zach, there’s nobody there. There’s, you know, there’s nobody rushing him,” King said of Wilson’s Pro Day. “The great plays that Patrick Mahomes has made, many of them have been under significant heat. And again, I’m not trying to rain on his parade at all, I’m just trying to say that this is why scouting in the NFL, in my opinion, is such a landmine.”

Football Morning In America is up! In the column:

💥 New insight into NFL's likely 17-game schedule
💥 Meet Zach Wilson, the 2021 version of Joe Burrow
💥 Good news, bad news on minority coaches
💥 Latest buzz on Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson
💥 More!https://t.co/SmwAzQfQWl pic.twitter.com/KY5YtfiXdY

— Peter King (@peter_king) March 1, 2021

For my entire conversation with King, subscribe to the Yards After College Podcast.

2021 NFL Draft