Justin Fields NFL Draft profile 2021: Fantasy Football fits, scouting report, pro day results, dynasty outlook
4 years ago
Justin Fields #JustinFields
Rated a consensus five-star prospect out of Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga., Justin Fields eventually took his dual-threat capabilities to Ohio State after committing to Penn State, then changed his mind and spent his first year at Georgia. With the Buckeyes, Fields was a two-year starter who led them to a combined 20-2 record and two berths in the College Football Playoff.
On the strength of 51 total touchdowns in 2019, Fields collected big-time accolades including first-team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year. He was also a Davey O’Brien Award Finalist and a Heisman Trophy finalist then and was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year in 2020.
We’re breaking down everything you need to know about Fields from a Fantasy manager perspective, including best fits, dynasty outlook, measurables, scouting report, key stats and an NFL comparison.
Fantasy fits
Carolina Panthers
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady got a lot of mileage out of short-area passing kingpin Teddy Bridgewater in 2020. Not only can Fields deliver pinpoint accuracy on the regular, but his deep-ball ability and willingness to run would give Brady and the Panthers a signal-caller who would make defenses get nervous. D.J. Moore is a route-running whiz who would work exceptionally well with Fields, and Robby Anderson would be useful in both short- and long-range passing situations. Their short-yardage package with Christian McCaffrey would be dizzying to defensive coordinators as well. This is where Fields’ fastest track to Fantasy relevance would be.
Washington Football Team
Once upon a time, Ron Rivera and his staff drafted a dynamic dual-threat quarterback with a strong arm and a propensity to pick up chunks of yardage with his feet. Fields isn’t the same kind of runner that Cam Newton was, but an offense was tailored to this type of multi-purpose quarterback under Rivera before, particularly one that was schemed up and didn’t ask the passer to make challenging reads play after play. Washington already has a terrific No. 1 receiver in Terry McLaurin and could build up its offensive line to better protect Fields.
New England Patriots
Speaking of Newton, the team he played for in 2020 could adjust its offense to fit Fields quite easily, plus they already have a beefy offensive line. Unless the Patriots’ receiving corps improves dramatically, however, Fields might have a harder time racking up passing yardage. He’d be a fun fit with the Pats but it might take a year or two for him to become more than a streamer.
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Dynasty outlook
Unless Trey Lance or Mac Jones winds up in an incredibly good situation, dynasty leaguers will have to make a decision between Zach Wilson and Fields as the second-best rookie quarterback. Both have great arms, both are capable of making things happen when chaos ensues, but Fields’ edge in rushing ability makes him more appealing in Fantasy Football (not necessarily in the NFL). Expect him to get picked with a top-15 pick in one-QB formats and somewhere between second and eighth overall in two-QB formats.
Scouting report Strengths
Good-sized quarterback with strong build. Regularly shed blitzers and tacklers thanks to the combination of agility and power.
Very good, polished, consistent footwork that helped provide a solid base on his throws. Navigated the pocket well, stepping up when the space was there and moving around when it wasn’t.
Has poise in the pocket and usually did a very good job keeping his eyes downfield when climbing and when the pocket collapsed.
Understood the basics of pre-snap reads and reacted accordingly. Also had a terrific play-action fake and pump fake to get linebackers and safeties off-balance. Did a good job of looking off safeties to make an easier throw to the sideline.
Worked mostly out of shotgun but had a handful of under-center snaps.
Arm strength is very good, allowing him to make any and every throw. Constantly goes for and frequently wins on far-sideline tosses and deep throws. Passes have traveled as far as 50, 51, 56 and 61 yards in the air.
Generally had very good accuracy both in the pocket and on the move. Routinely hit slants, sidelines, curls, digs, posts, fades and deep balls. Fields threw best in rhythm.
Mobility is a huge asset. Not only can Fields run RPO or navigate a pocket and move out of it with ease, but his excellent improvisational skills helped him frequently take broken plays and turn them into quality gains.
Fields is a passer first, but he has good speed, acceleration and burst when he does take off. He’s also willing to get physical to convert a first down or score a short-yardage touchdown. Eighty percent of his rushing scores came from 10 yards or closer at Ohio State.
Should fit right into RPO and zone read concepts with the potential to handle a West Coast offense by his rookie season. Managed plenty of choice routes with his top receivers at Ohio State.
Tough and competitive. Took a massive hit versus Clemson, writhed in pain on the turf, and missed one play. Also played through a thumb injury versus Clemson (six touchdowns).
Praised for his leadership by former coaches Urban Meyer and Ryan Day. “He’s taken over the locker room,” Meyer said last December.
Concerns
Had a tendency to hold onto the ball too long and stared down receivers, leading to plays breaking down and defenses getting to Fields. This specific issue may have magnified other issues below.
Typically navigated the pocket well but would sometimes get flustered and lose momentum when he got knocked around by pass rushers. Games against Alabama, Northwestern and Indiana all had spurts of Fields playing poorly once defenses started to hit him. He was already the 11th-most blitzed quarterback in college last season, and NFL defensive coordinators figure to blitz him heavily upon his arrival.
Threw what seemed to be designed/predetermined passes most of the time. Perhaps this was because the coaches knew he would hold the ball too long otherwise. There’s evidence of him finding a second option, but it’s not consistent. Fields seems intelligent — can he quickly master the art of reading defense coverages after the snap?
Mixed bag in terms of awareness — sometimes he saw defenders and stoically stood in pocket and delivered a money throw, sometimes he completely missed a defender and got hit. Especially didn’t see unblocked front-four defenders.
Would sometimes not see or pass up easy short-area throws to take a chance on a deeper one. Some would work out, others would get picked off. Fields has to be a little more willing to play it safe.
Sometimes had an elongated throwing motion on middle-of-field throws. His accuracy would be affected.
Occasional “drifty” footwork might annoy some coaches, but rarely did it seem to impact his accuracy or arm strength.
Stats breakdown 2020 8 70.2 2,100 22 6 383 5 2020 v top 25 5 63.8 1,311 13 6 218 1 2019 v top 25 6 63.2 1,482 14 3 196 2 Career 34 68.4 5,701 67 9 1,133 19 Advanced stats to know
Second-best adjusted completion percentage (80.8%), per PFF
2.8% turnover-worthy play rate, 21st-best per PFF
38 plays of 20+ yards (19th most in CFB)
12th-best in Air Yards before completion (1,396) with only the 62nd-most pass attempts
Play-action passing: 77 attempts (48th-most), 74.0% completion rate (fifth-best), 11.78 yards per attempt (14th-best), nine touchdowns, one interception
Only 86 yards came on screen passes per PFF
14th in the nation in yards per attempt (9.33); Trevor Lawrence was 9.41
Saw the 11th most blitzes in the nation, and played the fewest games of anyone in the top 20
Of his 15 rushing touchdowns at Ohio State, 12 were from 10 yards or closer
NFL comparison
Fields has said in the past that he’s modeled his game after Russell Wilson, and that’s who I keep coming back to for comparison. I especially see Wilson when Fields takes off and runs when a play breaks down, as well as when he uncorks a deep ball and connects through a tight window. A wrinkle is that Fields is bigger than Wilson, and it’s believed that Wilson fell in the draft in part because of his size. That’s not going to happen to Fields.
