The One Quarterback the 49ers Should Avoid in Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft
The 49ers almost certainly will draft a quarterback in Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft. And these days, it seems college football produces lots of NFL-ready quarterbacks and much fewer draft busts at that position than just 10 years ago.
So the 49ers can't go wrong next year as long they just take a quarterback -- any quarterback -- in Round 1, then plug him into Kyle Shanahan's offense.
With one exception: Ohio State's Justin Fields.
Fields is a terrific athlete, and he has fantastic statistics. In 15 games at Ohio State, Fields has completed 70.9 percent of his passes, and thrown for 52 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. Amazing numbers.
But every Ohio State quarterback is athletic and puts up amazing numbers in college. And none of them pan out in the NFL. None.
Let's check out the best Ohio State quarterbacks since 2006.
Troy Smith: Threw 54 TD passes and 13 picks at Ohio State. Was a fifth-round pick, and started only eight games in the NFL -- two for the Ravens and six for the 49ers. Completed 51 percent of his passes. How could 49ers fans forget the great Troy Smith Era in San Francisco?
Terrelle Pryor: Threw 57 touchdown passes and ran for 17 at Ohio State. Gained more than 8.000 yards through the air and on the ground in college. Was a third-round pick in the supplemental draft. Started 10 games at quarterback in the NFL, won three, threw 12 picks and became a wide receiver.
Braxton Miller: Threw 52 touchdown passes and ran for 33 at Ohio State. Switched to wide receiver before the draft and became a third-round pick.
Cardale Jones: Won a National Championship at Ohio State. Was a fourth-round pick. Never started a game in the NFL. No longer in the league.
Dwayne Haskins: Threw 54 touchdown passes and only 9 picks at Ohio State. Completed 70 percent of his passes in college. Was a first-round pick. Started 11 games in the NFL. Won three of them. Got benched. Currently is a third-string quarterback.
Here's the problem with Ohio State quarterbacks:
They play with five-star running backs, plus they play in a simple spread offense that features the zone-read running game. So Big 10 defenses put eight in the box and spend most of their energy stopping the run. Meaning those mediocre defenses play vanilla coverages and are vulnerable against Ohio State's simple passing attack.
Every Ohio State quarterback gets to the NFL and discovers he can't go through progressions or read complex coverages, because he didn't do those things in college. He essentially played fast-break basketball and distributed the ball to future NFL stars.
I'd take Trey Lance from North Dakota State over Fields. I'd also take Zach Wilson from BYU over him.
Beware the Buckeye quarterback.
