The New York Jets haven’t had a lot of luck drafting top quarterbacks the last couple times they’ve done it. With that being the case, they might as well try something unorthodox in the evaluation process.
Jets coach Robert Saleh certainly did that while attending quarterback Zach Wilson’s pro day at BYU. Wilson had faced questions about his size, and the Jets wanted them answered to see if he had more room to grow physically. To confirm this, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB, Saleh had former 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, a former BYU player in attendance at the event, go give Wilson a hug.
Why? Warner stands 6-foot-3 and 230 lbs., so he would provide a valuable point of comparison. The Jets came away pleased with what they saw, and the hug actually answered their few remaining questions about the player they ultimately selected second overall.
Wilson has shown encouraging signs in terms of preparing himself for the NFL, specifically playing in New York. In the end, though, it may well turn out that this hug was the key moment of the entire process.
