The first time I saw Justin Fields play at Harrison High School in Kennesaw I knew that he was special. Fast forward five years later and here we are talking about where he will be drafted in the upcoming NFL draft on April 29.
I want Justin Fields. The Atlanta Falcons need Justin Fields. Let me explain.
Falcons fans have been in an abusive relationship the last three years. The fan base went from high expectations to becoming the most embarrassed fan base in the NFL, with blown lead after blown lead. The last three seasons this team started 1-4, 1-7, and 0-5, respectively. All the hope went out the window with every gut-wrenching loss. Now that the divorce is final, after cutting ties with Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff the fan base took a deep breath and welcomed new head coach Arthur Smith and new GM Terry Fontenot with a smile.
Part of that welcoming was hope.
Just like in a new relationship, there is hope. But we still need something else. We need fresh energy at the most important position in the NFL. The quarterback position. I say this not because I want to run Matt Ryan out of town. He is still playing at a high level, and in fact I still think we can win with him. But drafting Justin Fields gives the fan base a reason to get excited as the Falcons continue to build toward the future.
Derrik Klassen, in a recent analysis for Football Outsiders, used game clips to demonstrate what the statistics told him: Fields is the most accurate quarterback he has analyzed over the past six years. Did you hear what I just said?
Yes, including Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who is the consensus pick to be taken ahead of Fields and everyone else in April’s draft. This includes LSU’s Joe Burrow, who use to own that distinction and was taken No. 1 by Cincinnati Bengals last year.
If you do not believe that Justin Fields is that guy, stop overanalyzing the two bad games Fields had and allowing them to overshadow all his other performances. It is not fair, nor is an accurate account of who he really is or who he has been in his college career. He is a winner who is tough with a great arm and tremendous athleticism. It is the same young man I saw in high school all those years ago.
I want Justin Fields. The Falcons need Justin Fields. Do they want to be the team that passed him up? If they get a chance to draft him?
Think about how the Chicago Bears wish they would have taken Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes with the No. 2 overall pick instead of North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky in 2017 who is no longer with the Bears and has not shown me that he is capable of being a franchise quarterback. So, he went to Buffalo to back up Josh Allen. Nice way to say I accept not being a franchise quarterback good pick Chicago. In 2012 four other teams picked quarterbacks before Seattle picked Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson in the third round. How has that turned out? #Winning
He has led them a Super Bowl win, and if we are being honest, he should have two! Thanks Darrell Bevell! Since Russell took over at quarterback the team has never had a losing season in Seattle. Trust your gut and never pass up a great quarterback this early in the draft, or you might find yourself regretting it four to five years later. If that happens then you will find yourself back here in the draft looking for a future franchise quarterback when you could have one.
Put ’em Up.