49ers: Ranking the quarterback options with third overall pick

1. Zach Wilson, BYU

The 49ers were the talk of the town in Provo, where general manager John Lynch was watching Wilson put on a show at BYU’s pro day when news of the trade with the Dolphins came down.

Wilson emptied his bag of tricks during a spectacular showcase, with the highlight a stunning deep ball that he threw on target while rolling to his left with his weight falling away from the pass.

Those throws were a common occurrence for Wilson during his time with the Cougars. Like Fields, Wilson sacrifices neither accuracy nor velocity on his throws when operating on the move, with his skill set perfectly suited to slotting into the Shanahan scheme and starting from day one.

While Fields has the edge in overall athleticism and in upside as a runner, Wilson has shown superiority when it comes to processing, reading the defense and making quick decisions, with his extremely efficient release enabling him to get the ball out in a hurry and negate pressure.

Wilson has shown the ability to open throwing windows by moving safeties with his eyes and confounded opposing defenses through what he can do against pressure. He can climb the pocket and escape with his legs, but Wilson has also proven he can manipulate his arm angle to fit the ball through a window even with a defender in his face.

His strong suit, however, is comfortably his ball placement, which is exceptional at every level. Wilson throws with anticipation over the middle and his deep throws are frequently placed where only the receiver has a chance to make a play on the ball.

Similar to Fields, Wilson has been guilty of trying to do too much and should have thrown more than the three interceptions he recorded in 2020 as he regularly made the dangerous decision to force the ball into lanes where second-level defenders were lurking.

These are correctable flaws that can be minimized with pro experience and Shanahan would surely accept those minor growing pains if it meant the Niners had a quarterback who could immediately step in and elevate the offense to new heights.