Justin Fields QB - Ohio State

Originally posted by Sunshine:

He may not have an Allen/Mahomes/Stafford level arm but this is ridiculous. I can't speak to today's game because I only saw bits and pieces of it but every time I watch Fields I am wowed by his ball placement. He absolutely has arm talent.

When you don't have an upper tier arm and you're frequently a tick late when it comes to processing what is in front of you, its an issue. Allen and Mahomes can be slow to read a defense, slow to go through a progression and still be able to get the ball in there. Fields doesn't have that luxury. He's going to have to be more decisive and do a much better job of going through his progressions to be successful in the NFL.


NW has an excellent secondary so the game was a good preview of Fields vs more NFL like pass defense and he did not come through it with flying colors.

They said during the broadcast that he had an injured right thumb. After the game he said it was sprained. That could have held down his efficiency yesterday. The Niners aren't going to draft him so I don't really care one way or the other.

Josh Freeman should stay for another year... he's not ready..

OOOPPSSS !!! did I say JOSH FREEMAN ?? LOL.... Well, they're about the same !!

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Sunshine:

He may not have an Allen/Mahomes/Stafford level arm but this is ridiculous. I can't speak to today's game because I only saw bits and pieces of it but every time I watch Fields I am wowed by his ball placement. He absolutely has arm talent.

When you don't have an upper tier arm and you're frequently a tick late when it comes to processing what is in front of you, its an issue. Allen and Mahomes can be slow to read a defense, slow to go through a progression and still be able to get the ball in there. Fields doesn't have that luxury. He's going to have to be more decisive and do a much better job of going through his progressions to be successful in the NFL.


NW has an excellent secondary so the game was a good preview of Fields vs more NFL like pass defense and he did not come through it with flying colors.

That's fair. I have not had a chance to dive in to his film yet so I can't say one way or another how he processes the game or gets through progressions. Not even saying he's QB2 or QB3. I just think it's silly to say he doesn't have arm talent.

What is this dudes hand size? Seems like he grips the ball way way back but it doesn't look like he comes even close to getting fingers to the middle.

Originally posted by 9moon:

Josh Freeman should stay for another year... he's not ready..

OOOPPSSS !!! did I say JOSH FREEMAN ?? LOL.... Well, they're about the same !!

Lol why because he's black and a similar size

Fields has 3 less TDs just in 2019 (41) to freeman's whole college career (44).

Freeman comp 59% fields 69%

Not even remotely close to as productive.

Originally posted by Sunshine:

That's fair. I have not had a chance to dive in to his film yet so I can't say one way or another how he processes the game or gets through progressions. Not even saying he's QB2 or QB3. I just think it's silly to say he doesn't have arm talent.

His arm talent is not even close to an issue.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Sunshine:

He may not have an Allen/Mahomes/Stafford level arm but this is ridiculous. I can't speak to today's game because I only saw bits and pieces of it but every time I watch Fields I am wowed by his ball placement. He absolutely has arm talent.

When you don't have an upper tier arm and you're frequently a tick late when it comes to processing what is in front of you, its an issue. Allen and Mahomes can be slow to read a defense, slow to go through a progression and still be able to get the ball in there. Fields doesn't have that luxury. He's going to have to be more decisive and do a much better job of going through his progressions to be successful in the NFL.


NW has an excellent secondary so the game was a good preview of Fields vs more NFL like pass defense and he did not come through it with flying colors.

I agree with this assessment. This is pretty much what I've been saying. I saw immediate red flags with Fields and I think he's a far higher risk prospect than many of the others in this class.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by 9moon:
Josh Freeman should stay for another year... he's not ready..

OOOPPSSS !!! did I say JOSH FREEMAN ?? LOL.... Well, they're about the same !!

Lol why because he's black and a similar size

Fields has 3 less TDs just in 2019 (41) to freeman's whole college career (44).

Freeman comp 59% fields 69%

Not even remotely close to as productive.

Well I just said don't ever agree with moon, mostly because he's so over the top.

But it is interesting to see Urban Meyer say he thinks Fields should come back but also because he thinks college QB's truly need 30 games of starting experience and Fields does not yet have that. Note that if you start as a true freshman and stay injury free you have 30 games in the first year you're draft eligible (true junior year).

Honestly, one can say Fields hasn't played well against the best teams he's faced this year, and that's fair. But who's the best team Wilson has faced? Coastal Carolina? Great year, great story- would be a middle of the pack team in a bigger conference.

Fields and Ohio State have in a way faced the same situation, well, that we have. Not exactly the same but what's similar is how hard it is to develop consistency and a flow. With us it's largely been injuries. With them, it's the stupid Covid stuff. From the conference isn't even playing football so Shaun Wade and Wyatt Davis are out to wait now we are, but it will be a later start and abbreviated schedule. To losing a bunch of players to positive Covid tests to having 3 games canceled to because of that being left in the cold for the conference championship game to the conference changing the rules and letting them play.

Again, not using that as an excuse in and of itself. But at the same time it's hard to imagine that hasn't had a tremendous effect.

Originally posted by OhioNiner:

What gets me is not a single scout, that I know of, questions his arm talent. No one is saying he's Brett Favre or Josh Allen. But there's a reason guys like that are rare in terms of arm talent. But the armchair scouts are smarter, I guess.

Look, I'm an Ohio State fan. Live in Ohio... hence the name. Obviously didn't play that well today. Also obviously not under the most normal of circumstances playing a great defense, lots of guys missing from the team and kind of the yo-yo effect of not even qualifying for the BIG Championship game based on 3 cancelled games only for the BIG to change their own rules. Heck- 3 cancelled games. Not easy to stay your sharpest if you aren't playing live games.

Those aren't just excuses. I already said he didn't play that well.

I do wonder if Sermon made himself some money today and actually earned a draft slot.

Don't confuse the remark about arm talent with arm strength. For a guy being discussed as the best player in the draft, not named Trevor Lawrence, he rarely impresses with his arm. Trevor repeatedly gives you those wow moments. Wilson does too.

I love his athleticism and I think he's got some potential. I don't think he should be in the discussion to go #2 overall. That's my issue with him. His mobility will be a huge plus early in his career because I don't see him moving the chains with his arm. If the scouts were usually right then we wouldn't see so many 1st round busts.

Indeed, Sermon made some money. He was unstoppable.

Really, REALLY hope he balls out against Clemson, even if OSU doesn't win.

Originally posted by strickac:

Indeed, Sermon made some money. He was unstoppable.

I, for one, am still hoping to sign him as an UDFA

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Did we forget just how good Justin Fields really is?@BenjaminSolak on what Fields has to prove in the #SugarBowl + why many are forgetting the lesson they should have learned from Trevor Lawrence in 2019.#FrontOffice33 | #GoBuckeyes | #NFLDrafthttps://t.co/mffmOEBbuo

— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) December 31, 2020

Decent piece and reminder.

All this talk of "generational talents" whether QB or what have you- it seems like every year we have at least one "generational talent" which at some point stops making sense.

Lawrence might be the most hyped QB prospect since Luck. Personally I think Luck underperformed a bit relative to expectations put upon him. Still really good, still likely a franchise QB. But not as good as say Peyton Manning even though he could do some things Manning could not as the superior athlete.

We'll see what happens at this level with both Lawrence and Fields, and the other QB's for that matter.

Originally posted by OhioNiner:
Decent piece and reminder.

All this talk of "generational talents" whether QB or what have you- it seems like every year we have at least one "generational talent" which at some point stops making sense.

Lawrence might be the most hyped QB prospect since Luck. Personally I think Luck underperformed a bit relative to expectations put upon him. Still really good, still likely a franchise QB. But not as good as say Peyton Manning even though he could do some things Manning could not as the superior athlete.

We'll see what happens at this level with both Lawrence and Fields, and the other QB's for that matter.

Yup, where a QB gets drafted is so damn important end of the day.

If Mahomes went to the Browns/Jets and is forced to start day one is he winning Super Bowls with them? very unlikely. Fields has been regarded as a elite talent since high school for a reason. The talent is there. He's still young and progressing as a player. This season is weird for all these draft prospects imo.