Justin Fields Surprisingly Rated Third Best Quarterback in New NFL Mock Draft

Even though it isn't a normal year, college football has begun and that means NFL Draft boards and the scouting process is in full force. Ohio State fans are still hoping the Big Ten reverses course so the Buckeyes can play football this fall. Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State's Justin Fields are widely considered the top two players in the country and the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.

But apparently, not everyone is on board with those two quarterbacks coming off the board first in next April's draft.

A new mock draft from Bleacher Report's Matt Miller is projecting that Trey Lance, the quarterback at FCS school North Dakota State, would go second to the Washington Football Team instead of Justin Fields. Miller says Trevor Lawrence will be the first overall pick.

Instead, Justin Fields would be the fourth overall pick and head to Carolina.

"Turning on his film, you'll think it's a highlight breakdown instead of his full games," Miller said of Lance. "He's athletic and strong-armed, and he gives you a Deshaun Watson-at-Clemson vibe. It's exciting."

Couldn't you say the exact same thing about Fields, who plays at one of the premier schools in America?

Fields was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2019 because he was the best player on the field for (what some would still argue) the best team in the country last year. In his first year as a starter for Ohio State, he completed 238 of 354 passes from 3,273 yards. He threw 41 touchdowns and only three interceptions in 14 games last fall.

ESPN's Mel Kiper thinks differently than Matt Miller. Kiper thinks it's a very tight race between Lawrence and Fields for the No. 1 overall pick.

"Very close, very close — no question about it," Kiper said May 5 on ESPN's NFL Live. "I think that (Lawrence's) struggles late (in the season) opened the door. You can argue that point all they want, the bottom line is facts are facts and (Lawrence) did struggle in those last two games.

"And I think you look at Justin Fields, he had that (knee) injury. That last pass in that (semifinal) game would have won that football game, weave them into final (but) was the reason why. I think you look at that (Ohio State) team, would they have played LSU tougher? Who knows.

"Justin Fields — three interceptions all year, great mobility and athleticism. He only had one year as a starter, he's got to build on that in Year 2 and if he does, he will challenge Trevor Lawrence and make it a really good discussion as to who could be the first quarterback off the board."

For what it's worth, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (who ironically also attended North Dakota State) is the highest drafted FCS quarterback in history. He was the No. 2 pick by the Eagles in 2016. The next highest drafted quarterback from an FCS school is Jimmy Garoppolo, who was pick No. 62 in the Patriots out of Eastern Illinois in 2014.

I think it's a safe bet that Buckeye Nation won't agree with Matt Miller's draft board.

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