With which pick he’ll get taken in the NFL draft still very much up in the air, Justin Fields took part in his second pro day in less than a month. But unlike his first pro day, the former Ohio State quarterback threw in front of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, whose team now holds the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.
Fields has stiff competition as far as being the second or third quarterback taken in the draft. While Trevor Lawrence is expected to go to the Jaguars with the No. 1 overall pick, the Jets are expected to select former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. The 49ers are expected to either select Fields, former North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance or former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
Fields, who by all accounts enjoyed another solid performance on Wednesday, was seen chatting with Shanahan, who gave John Beck — Fields’ private quarterbacks coach — suggestions on what types of throws he was hoping to see. Several other NFL teams that attended the combine — most notably the Falcons, 49ers, Jets, Panthers, and Broncos — also provided input as what they were hoping to see from Fields. And while Wednesday’s pro day was closed to the media, Ohio State did release videos of several of Fields’ passes.
During his first pro day, the 6-foot-3, 228-pound Fields ran an impressive 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. He also threw an array of impressive passes that included a 65-yard bomb that drew applause from seemingly everyone in attendance.
While his tangibles speak for themselves, Fields’ intangibles were on clear display during his greatest moment as a Buckeye. Despite suffering an injury to his midsection during Ohio State’s College Football Playoff semifinal game against Clemson, Fields stayed in the game and threw for six touchdown passes, an Ohio State bowl game record. All told, Fields went 22-of-28 for 385 yards while leading the Buckeyes to a 49-28 win.
“Justin is a great quarterback,” former Buckeye running back and draft hopeful Trey Sermon recently told CBS Sports. “He is versatile. He is accurate. He can make things out of nothing. He is a great leader as well. I don’t know why people are down on him. He is just a great player. He has battled through adversity as well; getting hurt, coming back, completing passes, throwing touchdowns and making plays to help the team succeed.”
