Justin Fields NFL and Ohio State alum draft comparisons

The NFL draft is inching closer and closer with the first round set to kick-off in Cleveland, Ohio on April 29th. Most Ohio State football fans are focused on the spring practices and the upcoming 2021 season, but there is still a chunk that are rooting desperately for all of our beloved Buckeyes to turn some heads in the NFL.

In the upcoming weeks, we will examine who are the best comparisons for each Ohio State draft prospect and we will include an all-around comparison and a Buckeye alum comparison. We are starting out with what could possibly be the toughest one in Justin Fields, mainly because there aren’t too many out there like him.

Player Profile

Name: Justin Fields

Position: Quarterback

Height: 6-foot, 3-inches (Pre Pro-Day)

Weight: 228 pounds

giving kyle shanahan justin fields will break the leaguepic.twitter.com/pa0FN3uS5r

— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) March 26, 2021

NEXT … The closest all-around comp to Fields’ game

All-around Comparison: Dak Prescott

Prescott was drafted as a steal in the fourth round of the 2016 draft by the Dallas Cowboys and has torn up the league ever since. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2016 and made the Pro Bowl in both his rookie campaign and again in 2018. Prescott just signed a new contract which includes the highest signing bonus in NFL history at $66 million.

Much like Fields now, Prescott was a pure upside selection who was widely considered an unpolished prospect. The difference in the two comes down to their feel in the passing game. Fields is a much better version of Prescott as evidenced by his 67 career touchdown passes and only nine interceptions compared to Prescott’s 70 career touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

Prescott has already accomplished a ton in his young five-year career, but Fields is better than Prescott was coming out in 2016 and has even more upside. It is a general consensus that Fields will be an early first-round selection and will be given the keys to a franchise this season. Much like Prescott.

Jerry Jones compares Dak Prescott's rehab work to that of a legendary Cowboys player: pic.twitter.com/qGB7aRUrvL

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 27, 2021

NEXT … Best former Ohio State comp

Fields’ best Buckeye Comparison: Terrelle Pryor

I said this would be hard, but Pryor is the most comparable specimen freak of an athlete the Buckeyes have had at the quarterback position. Pryor was selected in the third round of the 2011 supplemental draft by the Raiders after he decided to withdraw from Ohio State in June of that same year after the regularly scheduled draft was held.

Pryor did not have the best pro career and was actually forced to make a position change to wide receiver, but his pro day was insane. Pryor ran a 4.38 forty-yard dash and measured in at 6-foot, 5-inches, and 232-pounds. Pryor was not a terrible quarterback in the NFL, but he never developed into anything more than an athletic freak and the pro game requires more. Fields is a better passer than what Pryor was but on the same level physically. It is a safe bet to expect a better career out of Fields.

Terrelle Pryor was drafted with pick of round 3 in the 2011 draft class. He scored a 7.47 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 242 out of 954 WR from 1987 to 2011. #1KReceiver https://t.co/cHvXr2Sd34 #RAS pic.twitter.com/blJjI0UPEt

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 26, 2021

Stay with us as we provide more of these comps leading into all the 2021 NFL draft shenanigans with other Ohio State football players eligible.