Panthers got to see an impressive performance from Justin Fields at Ohio State pro day
When discussing the quarterbacks expected to be selected early in this year’s draft, the same names come up time and time again. Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Mac Jones. Too often, the national focus shifts away from Ohio State’s Justin Fields, despite him being almost a guarantee to go early in the draft.
During his pro day Tuesday, Fields reminded everyone why he deserves to be in the conversation. From his 40-yard dash to some flashy throws on the move, draft analysts described his workout as “impressive” and one of the best of the offseason.
“At the end, he really was kind of showing off, I thought. I mean, just driving the ball down the field with unbelievable accuracy,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said. “Anybody who is here got to see it, live and in color of just how talented he is.”
Fields’ first splash to the Pro Day came when he ran an unofficial time of a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash, while stumbling a bit during the run. Players are working out solely at pro days, as opposed to the usual NFL Combine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Fields’ numbers can still be measured against those who came before him. Only one other quarterback prospect has run a faster time at the combine — Robert Griffin III, who ran a 4.41 in 2012. Marcus Mariota was previously in second with a 4.52 time in 2015.
Although for Fields, there was some disappointment with his time.
“I think everybody knows my goal in that 40-yard dash was at least to be in the 4.3s,” Fields said. “Of course I’m kind of mad about that ... but overall I thought a pretty solid day.”
While NFL teams were in attendance Tuesday to see a variety of Buckeye players work out, Fields had plenty of high-level decision-makers in attendance to see him in person.
That included Panthers coach Matt Rhule, general manager Scott Fitterer and director of player personnel Pat Stewart. Carolina, which holds the eighth overall pick, also had representatives at Alabama quarterback Mac Jones’ second pro day Tuesday, including offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was not at the Senior Bowl when the rest of the staff spent time with Jones due to COVID-19-related issues, and at Texas A&M quarterback Kellan Mond’s pro day at the same time.
Fields, who transferred to Ohio State from Georgia after the 2018 season, is known for his ability to use his feet and will join a growing trend of dual-threat players in the NFL. In 2020, Fields ran for 383 yards on 81 carries and five touchdowns.
The 22-year old is 6-foot-3, 227-pounds, has been widely expected to be selected high in the first-round of the 2021 NFL draft. He will likely be one of five quarterbacks taken on the first day.
Rhule has know Day since they were assistant coaches together at Temple in 2006. It was hard not to like what Day’s quarterback put on display.
Fields threw a similar script to that of BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, whose pro day was last week, as the pair share quarterback coach John Beck.
While it wasn’t a perfect day from Fields, he looked accurate and confident with his throws. One of the flashiest of them all was a downfield throw that went about 65-yards while rolling to Fields’ left, similar to one that caught much attention during Wilson’s Pro Day.
“As a former quarterback, I probably would have broken my hip trying to throw that one,” Day joked. “... It just goes to show you how accurate he is downfield. He’s the most accurate down the field passer I’ve seen and that was probably just the most impressive (throw) looking at it.”
Fields passed for 5,373 yards, 63 touchdowns, nine interceptions and 52 sacks at Ohio State from 2019-2020. He is expected to become the second Buckeye quarterback to be selected in the first round over the past three years (Dwayne Haskins — 2019), after the program had none between Art Schlichter in 1982 and Haskins.
There have been critiques of Fields, as well, including his pocket awareness, but he tried to dispel some of that Tuesday and feels that his expectations of himself outweigh the criticism.
“At the end of the day, of course, (there’s) always going to be a chip on my shoulder, but I think my drive, my wanting to be great, my willingness to be great just come from inside,” Fields said when asked about some concerns regarding his pro potential. “I try to not pay too much to the outside voices, because at the end of the day, they have their opinions, but they don’t really know what’s going on inside of the building or inside of a certain offense, so my dedication and my passion to be great just comes from within.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 5:20 PM.
