Former Ohio State Quarterback Justin Fields Selected By The Chicago Bears With No. 11 Overall Pick In 2021 NFL Draft
Former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 11 overall pick in Thursday night’s NFL Draft, making him just the fourth signal-caller in school history to hear his name called in the first round, joining Don Scott in 1941, Art Schlicter in 1982 and Dwayne Haskins in 2019.
A former five-star prospect from Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison, Fields came to Columbus through the transfer portal after one season at Georgia. He then became one of the most accomplished players to ever suit up for the Buckeyes, as he was twice named the Big Ten’s offensive player of the year and quarterback of the year and was a Heisman Trophy finalists in 2019.
In 22 career starts at Ohio State, Fields threw for 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns compared to just nine interceptions and also rushed for 867 yards and 15 more scores. He never lost a regular-season game with the Buckeyes and led the program to back-to-back conference titles and two appearances in the College Football Playoff, including a berth in the national championship this past season.
In 2019, Fields became the first and only player in Big Ten history to throw for 40 touchdowns and rush for 10 scores in a single season. He also holds school records for passing efficiency in a single season (181.4 passer rating in 2019) and career (179.1), the latter of which is also a Big Ten record, as well as completion percentage (70.2 percent in 2020) and touchdown passes in a bowl game with six in a 49-28 victory over Clemson in the 2021 Sugar Bowl.
The only Ohio State quarterback with more passing touchdowns in his career than Fields is J.T. Barrett, who threw for a Big Ten-record 104 touchdowns from 2013-17. He also has the second-highest winning percentage in school history among quarterbacks with 16 or more starts, trailing only Rex Kern, who went 25-2 from 1968-70.
That said, Fields’ on-field legacy will also be tied to his efforts in getting the Big Ten to resume the 2020 season after it was initially postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic. He started an online petition that garnered more than 300,000 signatures and publicly lobbied for the conference to revisit its decision, which was reversed a few weeks later. Without him, it’s entirely possible the Buckeyes don’t play last fall.
Fields is the first player to be drafted by the Bears since linebacker Marcus Freeman in 2009. He'll seemingly compete with newly acquired veteran Andy Dalton for the starting role as a rookie.
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