Justin Fields 2021 NFL Draft fits: 5 Best landing spots
By Tadhg Flynn
The 2021 NFL Draft is fast approaching, and Justin Fields has dropped down the rankings of college prospects since February. What teams would benefit the most from selecting him?
The 2021 NFL Draft is a draft class like no other. On Thursday, 32 franchises will make selections of college prospects with less information than they have ever had. The 2020 interruptions to regular life extended to the evaluation of college football players, with no NFL Combine for all scouts and front office employees to meet, mingle and share opinions.
There have been no in-person meetings between franchises and potential draftees. The entire process has been truncated, including the season in which players participated.
Justin Fields is proving to be a familiar story in contrast to all of this unease and unfamiliarity for general managers and front offices. Rumours begin to form around a player about “work ethic” or “difficult personality” or similar sentiments because of unexplained feelings media and recruiters start to get.
Fields arrived at the end of the college year as the undisputed QB2 and, ever since February, he has been falling. Any team who is willing to go against the public opinion and select Fields may end up with the best quarterback of the class in five years time.
Here are five teams who would be the best landing spots for Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft.
5. Washington Football Team
The Washington Football Team enamored sports fans with their part in Alex Smith’s Comeback Player of the Year journey, having recovered from a devastating run of injuries and leading the team to a winning 5-3 record when he played this past season. Sadly, Smith was cut, subsequently retired, and another quarterback comes into the WFT starting spot.
Ryan Fitzpatrick continues his storied journeyman career as the Football Team signed him to his ninth NFL team. He has proven himself tenfold as a talented NFL player, but he has his limitations. He holds the unfortunate honor of having the most career yards thrown in the NFL without appearing in the postseason. He limits the talent ceiling of this Washington roster.
Justin Fields would operate as a perfect dual threat quarterback to run the Washington offence. His ceiling is very high, and with the level of talent surrounding him in Washington on both offence and defence, Fields would have the perfect platform for a successful start to his career. With this in mind, there is still a valuable place for Fitzpatrick in the Washington Football Team. He holds the veteran position of guiding Justin Fields into his starting role in time.
The career knowledge of different offenses Fitzmagic has is a goldmine for a young player to learn from. Extended career brilliance is very rare in the NFL, and Fields could sponge up all the information Fitzpatrick has to offer on not only the playing aspect of the NFL, but the mental and physical toughness required too. If Ron Rivera wants to really excel in his 24th season in the NFL and his first as a Washington head coach, he could do worse than take Fields in the Draft.