Justin Fields: Closer Look/Why I think he could be the guy

[davos]

I was super high on Fields in 2019 and have been going back to him and then rolling with the Wilson buzz.   So, I finally decided to give his QB life a finer look.  And I have to say, I think this is the man to get.  Maybe in a trade up, whatever way works. So why? Here we go:

Justin Fields

6'3 227

Before the 2021 season, Fields was seen on par with Trevor Lawrence.  Heck, rewind to his senior year in HS--he was seen as a future NFL QB coming out of HS.  5 star recruit, baseball stud, even seen as a potential MLB star/high pick.  He was the guy colleges wanted.

Now, fast forward post-PSU de-commit & UGA, he goes to OSU and just blows the lid off.  He gets rave reviews by coaches before his season even started, after the UGA racist rumor thing, he doesn't talk trash, he simply acts like a man about it all.  And a greater take from this is let's not think he's some OSU quarterback.  He's not Haskins or like any of the past Buckeye starters.  And it's not some cursed position-school connection.  If you look at his recruitment, he received offers from Alabama, Florida, Miss State, PSU (his OG choice), UGA, Auburn, MSU, virtually every top school. And a fun factoid:

Our very own Matt Rhule recruited him hard and the Baylor Bears offered him a scholarship in his first year at HC.  Funny enough, Baylor recruited 2 QBs heavily in this draft class and offered them scholarships: Justin Fields & Kellen Mond. Just food for thought.

His performance against Clemson in 2019 was damn good.  That game really set the tone for the next few years with a fun Clemson/OSU/Bama dynamic at the top of college football world.

Now this video is a pretty sober look at him.  If you don't want to watch, the short: It shows he does make progressions, superb accuracy, great mechanics.  The narrative that there's only one or two plays where he threw to his second read during the season is hyperbole but yes, it does hold some water given the offensive system:

Also, feel free to watch him in duress with the OSU line depleted against Bama.  I'd prefer to watch him at his lows versus looking at all the highs (which are pretty superb).  That game and the Indiana one were his "bad" career performances.  I just don't think there's as many question marks as people think there are with this guy.

The other thing is that he's gotten beat up a few times in games (not just that Clemson one) and he's proved to be one tough SOB.  And furthermore, he actually responds to getting knocked down by elevating himself and his team even more.  You can't teach those qualities IMO.

If you really have time:

I think he could very well be our draft target, not Zach Wilson, not Trey Lance, not Mac Jones.  He showed a lot of great leadership abilities with the pandemic situation with a weird schedule and a lot of players out at times.  He seems patient when he needs to push in the pocket versus just bailing out and running. 

I just see a lot of superb traits with this kid.  Love his in game presence, there's a lot to like.  And in looking back at him more closely, I really see why he was viewed so closely to Lawrence. 

Our coach likely knows him well already versus some of the other QBs in the draft.   

This is my Justin Fields endorsement.

Thanks for reading.

Edited March 7, 2021 by davos

[LinvilleGorge]

He checks all the physical boxes and from everything that's come out of the Panthers this off-season that's what we're looking for in our next QB. I won't be surprised if we draft any of the three non-Lawrence "big four" QBs. An intriguing case can be made for any of them.

[DFive]

I’ve been banging the gong for Fields for awhile. Great post and analysis @davosI’d love to see a new QB1 in CAR. 

Don’t forget, you can watch Justin Field’s HS career on the Netflix documentary, QB1. He was clearly head and shoulders above the others on his season and it really shows his leadership. 

[davos]

1 minute ago, DFive said:

I’ve been banging the gong for Fields for awhile. Great post and analysis @davosI’d love to see a new QB1 in CAR. 

Don’t forget, you can watch Justin Field’s HS career on the Netflix documentary, QB1. He was clearly head and shoulders above the others on his season and it really shows his leadership. 

I didn't realize that.  I'll definitely check it out.

[Shocker]

With all things considered Fields is the #2 QB to me.  Would love to get him and watch him develop here.

[Shocker]

63 TDs vs 9 int the last two seasons against top comp on a big stage at OSU.  Yeah that works especially considering his upside.

Add in 15 rushing TDs too.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Shocker

[davos]

I think if anything, he's getting a bit of a Deshaun Watson treatment where there's only limited ways to peg him down but a lot of the talking heads and "analysts" are doing their darnest to hype up the other QBs like Jones, Wilson, & Mond.  So him being #3-5 on rankings is simply a byproduct of a lot of articles/analysts trying to hype their faves.

From my view, this is a really good QB class.  Not many have this arguable 1st rounder talent but I think Fields is a level above Wilson & Lance when I really look harder and take a sober look w/ the Zach hype train.  There's a huge drop after that top-4/5.  I'm unsure about Mond and Newman, then there's really nothing else. 

[JawnyBlaze]

I wouldn’t be mad if we got Fields. I still prefer Wilson, but considering he’s probably going to the Jets or Texans at #2, I’d be happy with Fields after a trade up to 3 or 5. Give up next year’s first to do it. Maybe next year’s second if necessary too. 

[rayzor]

You'll get no arguments from me....but again, I'd be incredibly stoked to have him or any of the other 4 top QBs (lawrence, fields, wilson, or lance). I basically don't care which one as long as we get one. They all 4 have the makings of long term studs.

[TheRumGone]

The fact he was a short stop that mlb would draft is a big deal to me. I dunno what it is but it seems like that transfers well to the nfl. RW and Mahomes. Arm angles and things like that.

[MHS831]

He makes good reads, but the video states, "for every good read there are 2-3 bad ones" and that is not getting it done.  Holding the ball too long--Cam did the same thing and the play rarely worked out for him--led to his injuries.

I love the skill set, and if they can get him in the film room and covert that to the field, maybe we can get him to make better reads and get rid of the ball sooner--whatever we do, give him a line, a TE, and a game-breaking RB--we are almost there on offense.

[BigAggieLean.]

What position did he play when he played baseball? Was it shortstop?

[MHS831]

Don't get me wrong, I like him, but how many stud college QBs from the SEC do we see crash and burn in the NFL?  So using their stats is fool's gold, to some degree, but it is all we have to go on. I prefer someone who can break down the position and see what he does well and does not do well---and that video (all we have, really) is a bit (as stated) "Sobering" at times.  You get excited at first, but then you get a bit concerned. Can Fields be coached up?  Probably.  But these QBs are so risky this year.

[Jared Patterson]

Would next years first, third and this years fifth do it for the Dolphins?