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Brandon Marshall Advises Jets to Draft Surprising Quarterback With No. 2 Pick

By Isaiah De los Santos

Former New York Jets wideout Brandon Marshall thinks the team should select a surprising QB in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Former New York Jets wideout Brandon Marshall thinks the team should select a surprising QB in the 2021 NFL Draft. / Al Pereira/Getty Images
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The New York Jets don't need to overthink the No. 2 pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. BYU quarterback Zach Wilson has shown potential waiting to be tapped. His comparisons to Patrick Mahomes should make New York salivate. This gives the team a fresh restart with a new franchise QB following Sam Darnold's failure to live up to being the third overall selection in 2018.

The Jets' +6000 odds to win the Super Bowl on WynnBET showcase optimism about the team heading into the upcoming season with Wilson under center and new head coach Robert Saleh. But former Jets wideout Brandon Marshall has made a surprising case for a different QB to be New York's pick.

Marshall believes Ohio State QB Justin Fields makes more sense for the Jets because of his ability to handle the famously harsh New York media. The former wideout speaks from experience, spending two seasons with the Jets and another year with the Giants. It's not like his argument is completely off base.

Many promising young prospects have failed under the bright lights. It takes a certain kind of player to rise above the noise. Could Fields be that kind of player? It's possible. He left a rabid Georgia fanbase behind to transer to Ohio State, where he shined in his sophomore and junior seasons. He believed in himself and proved he made the right choice with the college football world watching closely.

Wilson spent his 2018 and 2019 seasons in obscurity at BYU before bursting on to the scene this past year. There was nowhere near as much attention being paid to him in Provo, Utah, as Fields dealt with at two powerhouses.

Darnold was a prized player as a freshman at USC and even he couldn't quiet the doubters in three full NFL seasons. The Jets need to make sure they find the right QB to finally lift this team from the depths, so it's worth wondering how Wilson and Fields would respond to the growing pains of their first year at the next level.

Marshall's endorsement of Fields certainly gives them something to consider before April's draft.