(AUDACY) After a decorated collegiate career spent primarily at Ohio State, quarterback Justin Fields was selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 11 pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday evening after they completed a blockbuster trade with the New York Giants to move up.
A while back, Fields was seen as the likely No. 2 overall pick behind Clemson's Trevor Lawrence following a dominant sophomore season in 2019 that saw him throw for 41 touchdowns while rushing for 10 more scores.
However, COVID-19 limited Ohio State to just eight regular-season games in the 2020 season. Though Fields did lead the Buckeyes to an appearance in the national championship game, an inability to match his 2019 results from an individual perspective opened the door for Fields to become one of the most polarizing prospects in this draft class.
NFL Media's Gil Brandt probably put it best in March when he reported that one team told him that Fields was one of their top five prospects in this class while another told him it believed he was worthy of a fourth-round selection. Without a doubt, the 22-year-old Fields will be overanalyzed at the professional level, because lots of pundits and fans have strong opinions on him.
Measurables: 6-foot-3, 228 pounds
School: Ohio State
2020 stats: 2,100 passing yards, 70% completion rate, 22 touchdowns, 6 interceptions; 383 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 81 attempts
Accolades: 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist; two-time first-team all-Big Ten; 2019 Associated Press second-team All-American; 2019 Big Ten championship MVP
Strengths: Game-changing athlete who will be able to lean on his natural gifts in his first season or two ... There's something to be said for how much toughness he showed against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, leading an upset win despite what was clearly a painful rib injury ... Big enough that he should hold up in the NFL, so long as he avoids hits when he tucks and runs.
Weaknesses: We learned in the days leading up to the draft that Fields has epilepsy, and while there's a belief that he'll "outgrow it as other family members have," it's at least worth noting ... He got away with making some throws into tight windows in college that will get picked off or deflected in the NFL ... Some, like Chris Simms of NBC Sports below, believe he's a one-read thrower currently, though there's certainly not unanimous agreement on that.
Expert scout analysis: Chris Simms, NBC Sports
"He has big talent -- there's no doubt -- it's just very raw at this point. He has room to grow. His running is real, better than I thought it was. He is a real threat, and the athletic ability will help him early in his career as he grows into being a better passer. He has an incredibly strong arm, but it can fall apart, and that's what scares me. I know people talk about the Clemson game. I would challenge people to go back and watch it. I know there are some good throws, but there are a handful of throws in that game where I would expect a high school quarterback to hit them 10 out of 10. I believe he's a one-read thrower. If the first read is not wide open, he's going to run or panic and he can do some bad things when he does that, can be a little careless with the football. He is not a good short-ball thrower. I look at Cardale Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields ... I don't know if they're teaching it this way at Ohio State, but the arm can get too floppy. It just doesn't connect all the time. His body is locked and the arm just flops everywhere."
Tape:
Player comparison: A more athletic Dak Prescott
Both Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network and Lance Zierlein of NFL Media compared Fields to Prescott, and we tend to agree with such a comparison. We'll see if he's able to have as much success as a passer as Prescott did right away, but the feeling here is he's even more of a threat as a rusher.
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