Thoughts with the combine spotlight set to shift to the field on Thursday …
• The curtain unofficially dropped on the Zach Wilson Era in New York on Wednesday, with New York Jets GM Joe Douglas confirming in his press conference that the team has granted the second pick in the 2021 draft permission to seek a trade, with a year left on his rookie deal.
The question then will be whether or not he can be salvaged as a starting quarterback.
I believe he can be, but a new team will have to thread a needle with him to get him back to where he was coming out of BYU three years ago. Wilson lost confidence quickly as a pro, with some warts certain teams identified on his college tape—one of which was his tendency to pass up layups and easier throws within structure to hunt big plays—manifesting in the NFL and turning into a full blown case of the yips.
Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports
Suffice it to say, Wilson needs—and now will get—a fresh start. One of his coaches told me Wednesday that he still believes the 24-year-old is “made of the right stuff”, and can find success if he can achieve a level of consistency he never did in New York. It also should help being away from a place where he’s already been branded a bust by the fan base.
Now, as for the good news, those around Wilson say he was way less affected by the noise around him in 2023, even if the scars from the previous two years were still with him. He still loves football and, given a bit of breather, and maybe some time on the bench, could very well learn from having to come out of a really difficult situation and a place where it seemed like a faceplant followed every step forward he took.
He’ll need to learn to play better within structure, as we mentioned earlier, and play a calmer game. But the talent is still there. So if he were to land with a team like the Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers, my guess is we could see a different player, even if he never does live up to the expectations he carried out of the draft three years ago.
Related: The Bears Are Rightly Addressing the Elephant in the Room
• With L’Jarius Sneed now able to seek a trade, the question will be what he might fetch the Kansas City Chiefs. I’m gonna peg the return right at what Kansas City got for Dee Ford five years ago—a second-round pick.
He’s a really good player. Kansas City trusted him to travel with star receivers like Ja’Marr Chase and Tyreek Hill this year. And where he was once mostly a slot corner, he played inside and out in 2023, and really gave the Chiefs’ ultra-versatile secondary its foundation with the amount of roles he could play.
That said, his contract is up, and a new team will likely have to pay him more than $20 million per year, and asking that new team to give him that sort of contract and send a first-round pick to Kansas City would probably be a bridge too far. And sure, the Chiefs could pay Sneed. But my sense is they’ll find a way to get Chris Jones extended, and with so many other big deals on the books, and more coming down the pike with their second- and third-year groups, it’d be tough for them to pay both of those star defenders.
So, yeah, my best guess is Jones gets paid, and Sneed is moved for a second-rounder.
Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports
• Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked, as a few people here were, about studying player body language. His answer was fascinating. He actually said Cleveland grades it, and has a “BBL” (Bad Body Language) fine schedule in the locker room. He then added that it’s especially important for quarterbacks, with teammates looking to those guys for leadership, a sentiment that Patriots exec Eliot Wolf also shared earlier in the day.
For what it’s worth, Stefanski was asked who has the best body language on his roster. He said it was probably Nick Chubb, then declined to answer who has the worst.
• North Carolina QB Drake Maye has impressed teams in his early meetings, showing a bit of an alpha quality that teams look for in the position. The other thing Maye has over the other quarterbacks in this class is his build. His tall, big frame makes him look like a kid born to play the position, with plenty of room left to grow.
• The NFLPA survey made headlines Thursday, and rightfully so. We had details, in case you’re looking for them. It also has already made a difference. Last year was the first year for this practice from the union. And after being humiliated in 2023, the Cardinals, for one, made changes, adding a family room and daycare on game day, replacing the floors in the weight room and ending the practice of charging players for meals at night.
Related: NFL Combine Takeaways: Chiefs Owner Is Bringing Home a Bad Report Card
• With the possibility that Wilson, Justin Fields and Mac Jones are traded in the coming weeks, there’s a pretty strong possibility that just one of five quarterbacks drafted in the first round in 2021 will remain with the team that drafted him. That one is Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that gives you one heck of a cautionary tale, especially when you consider that class was seen as a good one at the position, just like this year’s class is.
• FedEx pulling out of its naming-rights deal with the Washington Commanders is another sign of how much work new owner Josh Harris still has to do in rehabbing his team’s image.
