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NBC NFL analyst has ridiculously low ranking for Ohio State’s Justin Fields entering draft

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

If you thought you’ve already seen the worst grades for Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, you’re about to be in for a surprise.

NBC NFL analyst Chris Simms recently listed the Top 6 quarterbacks available in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. Yes, Fields was on the list, but the former Buckeye came in at No. 5, ahead of only North Dakota State QB Trey Lance.

This isn’t a joke.

Fields has been criticized recently by some NFL Draft analysts for sticking to his No. 1 receiver too much and hanging onto the football for too long. Performances against Indiana and Northwestern have been used against Fields in his evaluations since the end of the 2020 season.

But none of those evaluations had Fields this low. Simms has the former Buckeye behind BYU’s Zach Wilson, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Alabama’s Mac Jones and Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond.

In two years as a starting quarterbacks, Fields was 20-2 at Ohio State, was a two-time B1G Offensive Player of the Year, a Heisman finalist and a two-time B1G champion. He also led the Buckeyes to back-to-back appearances to the College Football Playoff, including the national championship this past season.

After struggling in those two games against Indiana and Northwestern, it’s fair to be critical of the Ohio State QB. Having Fields at No. 5 seems incredibly low, though.

Only time will tell how well this analysis ages.This is a very

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB