Coming into the season, the prevailing consensus was that the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft would be Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

However, after a hot start by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, we now have another viable contender for the top spot. ESPN’s Get Up! crew gave plenty of praise to Fields on Friday and they believe it’s now a toss-up for the No. 1 pick.

Fields has amassed 594 yards, 6 touchdowns, and no interceptions while adding 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Fields is coming off a season in which he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.

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David Pollack raved about the improvement of Fields during his second season at Ohio State.

“It’s just getting close. Justin Fields just continues to get better and he’s going to with more game reps. This is just his second year as a starter by the way,” Pollack said. “But to me, it was the arm strength…I gotta be able to stretch the field horizontally and vertically.”

Pollack adds that Fields has the frame and athleticism to be a dynamic producer in the pros.

“And then by the way, when things break down and you do take away my wide receivers and the wide side of the field, it doesn’t matter. I’m a running back. Big, big stocky build…continue to make plays and turns into a running back by the way,” Pollack said. “I think Trevor Lawrence is a really good athlete and you see him make long touchdown runs. I think Justin Fields is the guy you can snap it to and run a QB draw…he looks like a running back.”

Lawrence is currently sidelined due to COVID-19. Lawrence guided Clemson to a national championship in 2018 as the ACC Football Rookie of the Year and followed up his freshman year by returning Clemson to the national title game and earning First-team All-ACC honors in 2019.

Mark Sanchez believes a franchise cannot go wrong with either prospect and that it’s truly a matter of preference.

“This is no longer pretty much, kind of, sort of (a tough decision). We started the season and pretty much everyone said Trevor Lawrence is here and then it’s the rest of the field. I don’t think so, I think these guys are neck-and-neck. And I really thought it last year in their last two games each,” Sanchez explained. “Right now, it’s going to be a GM’s decision. They’re both incredibly talented and it’s going to be Pepsi one way, Coke the other, they’re both equally talented.”