If you had any doubts about how hungry Justin Fields was, all those doubts should have vanished in the College Football Playoff semifinal last year, when he led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a thrashing of the Clemson Tigers. James Skalski lowered his helmet and delivered a huge hit to Fields’ ribs, and it looked like Fields’ night was done. Skalski was ejected for targeting, but Fields only missed one play. He came back in and threw a touchdown pass on the very next play — but it was clear, watching the game, that Fields’ pain was extreme. Not only did he come back after halftime, but he finished the game, going 22 of 28 for 385 yards, six touchdowns and an interception. Those numbers — along with his toughness — explain his place near the top of so many draft boards.
Take a closer look at his draft profile, as you consider how he could help boost the online NFL betting fortunes of fans of the team that picks him.
NFL News: 3nd Overall 2021 Pick — Why is Justin Fields on Top?
Fields put up solid numbers, even in adversity
In 2019, Fields’ numbers were elite in the Big Ten, as he led them to the conference title and the College Football Playoff. He had an eye-popping 41:3 TD:INT ratio, completing 67 percent of his passes for 3,273 yards. He had 10 more touchdowns on the ground, running for 484 yards.
In 2020, all of college football was roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the delayed start for the Big Ten meant that Fields would only have conference games, with none of the opportunities to tune up the offense. The cancellations that Ohio State faced during the season because of COVID-19 spread made the potential for distractions even greater. He played very well against Nebraska, Penn State and Rutgers, but he struggled in wins over Indiana and Northwestern that called into question whether Ohio State even deserved to be in the College Football Playoff after having played so few games. Fields answered those questions with the dominant win over Clemson and also with his solid play against Alabama in the national championship. For the season, Fields threw for 2,100 yards, completing 70 percent of his passes. His TD:INT ratio (22:6) was not nearly as dominant, but he also did not have a traditional off-season to get back into sync with his receivers.
Fields’ arm shows both strength and versatility
Fields is terrific when it comes to locating the ball well, putting passes in place for receivers to make catches in position to keep in stride and gain additional yards. He can push the ball down the field, but he also puts enough arc under the ball to make it catchable when needed. He can drop touch passes right into the arms of receivers down the field, and he can also zip the ball on a rope.
Fields does need to learn to rely on checkdowns
There are times as a quarterback when you have to choose between dumping the ball to your checkdown receiver and holding the ball longer to see if there is a play that will open up down the field, or if you can do a better job scrambling. There were a number of times in 2020 when Fields opted not to check down, and the result was a negative play for Ohio State. In the NFL, with defenses moving at a much higher rate of speed, he will need to learn to dump the ball off sooner. Otherwise, he will be eating more big hits, or he will be forcing more balls into tight coverage and giving up interceptions. If you look at the evolution of such elite quarterbacks as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, you can see how their increasing willingness to check down when the situation calls for it has not only led to fewer turnovers but kept them from absorbing nearly as many huge hits.
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