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Mel Kiper Jr. blasts critics of QB Justin Fields

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Mel Kiper Jr. has heard enough criticism about Justin Fields. The ESPN NFL Draft analyst is tired of hearing the negativity surrounding the former Ohio State quarterback.

Since the college football season ended, there’s been plenty of criticism thrown around regarding Fields and his ability to transition to the next level. The biggest knock on the ex-Buckeye has been that he holds onto the football too long and he gets stuck on his primary receiver.

Kiper is tired of hearing it.

On Thursday’s edition of Get Up!, the draft analyst blasted the critics of Fields, particularly the scouts at the NFL level. He said that if those individuals scouting Fields can’t see his potential as a quarterback in the professional ranks, they really don’t have any business doing the job.

Below is the clip:

In Kiper’s latest mock draft, Fields is tabbed as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s projecting that the San Francisco 49ers will trade up in order to land the potential franchise quarterback and make future runs at the Super Bowl.

Last season, Fields threw for 2,100 yards, 22 touchdowns and rushed for 5 more scores and 383 yards while leading Ohio State to a 7-1 record. He completed over 70% of his passes but has been critiqued harshly for 6 interceptions, most of those coming against Indiana and Northwestern.

Fields was 20-2 as the starter at Ohio State with the only two losses coming in the College Football Playoff.

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