Oakland Raiders: Tyler Wilson Was Projected to be the No. 1 Overall Pick Last Year
By Eric He
Nov 3, 2012; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Tyler Wilson (8) looks to pass during the game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas defeated Tulsa 19-15. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler Wilson was selected with the 112 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
A year ago, he was expected to be the No. 1 overall pick.
An SI mock draft published in May of 2012 boldly proclaims Wilson as the No. 1 pick in 2013.
“Wilson may have been the third quarterback taken if he had entered [the 2012] draft,” said Andrew Perloff, who put together the mock draft. “He doesn’t jump out at you as a classic No. 1 overall, but will end up grading higher than both Matt Barkley and Tyler Bray.”
However, Wilson decided to stay for his senior year at Arkansas, and his stock plummeted as a result.
He did complete 249/401 passes for 3,387 yards, 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, but in his article “Oakland Raiders: The Tyler Wilson Effect,” our staff Ian Villanueva tells us why he fell all the way from a projected No. 1 selection to a fourth-round-nobody:
"There are a multitude of factors at play here. It really is unfair to place it all on the quarterback, but this does throw up huge red flags. Did he lose his locker room? After the Alabama loss his senior year, he mentioned that players quit. If one considers himself the leader of a team, then a lot of the that blame should fall on him. Additionally, in both years, he struggled against the elite teams, Alabama and LSU. It’s fair to say that the NFL has more athletic and more sophisticated defenses."
Wilson now joins a group of unproven quarterbacks in the likes of Matt Flynn and Terrelle Pryor. Will he eventually become a factor and show some of that No. 1-pick potential?