2021 NFL draft film breakdown: Ohio State QB Justin Fields (Part 1)

Sam Crnic looks at Justin Fields' 2019 film to project his outlook for the remainder of the 2020 season and the 2021 NFL draft. As Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields blazes through the 2020 college football season while on his way to becoming a top-two pick in the 2021 NFL draft, it's worth taking a look at his 2019 film to gauge his progress up to this point. What were the strengths that he needed to build upon, and what were the weaknesses that he needed to clean up? Let's dive into the foundation that Fields set for himself in his first season as a Buckeye. Justin Fields' 2019 season recap Long gone is the era of pocket passers, where only those who can go off-script prevail. Looking at some of the game's youngest stars at quarterback - Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson - all of them complement the run game just as efficiently as they complement the passing game. Looking back at Fields' 2019 season, efficiency is the theme. After transferring from Georgia, Fields was voted the Big Ten's offensive player and quarterback of the year as a 20-year-old true sophomore. He threw for 43 touchdowns and only three interceptions, becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist along the way. Throwing for 3,273 yards as well, it only took Justin 354 pass attempts (25.3 per game) to put together one of the best statistical seasons for an Ohio State quarterback. His average of 9.2 yards per attempt ranked fifth among Power 5 quarterbacks. In terms of passer rating, Fields' mark of 181.4 ranked third in the nation behind future NFL draftees Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts, while it stands as the best single-season number in Ohio State history (a record he may break again this year). In addition, Fields became the first quarterback since the 2000 season to throw for more than 40 touchdowns and three or fewer interceptions. As efficient of a passer as Fields is, his ability to open up the run game on zone reads was one of the many reasons Ohio State made it back to the College Football Playoff. Fields ran for 10 touchdowns to bring his total to 51 touchdowns on the season. Using Ohio State's All-22 coaches film from 2019, we will dig into the many positive aspects of Fields' game, but also the areas of weakness where he had to improve coming into 2020. This is not a complete scouting report of Justin; I’ll be digging deeper into his 2020 film as the 2021 NFL draft approaches. Today, we will be focusing on his 2019 sophomore season. The Good Anticipation While Fields wasn't yet the most refined at reading coverages at the college level, his 2019 season was filled with an exceptional amount of anticipatory throws. In the first play, Justin reads zone and exposes it based on the route combination. Without any pre-snap motion from the offense, Fields makes the assumption that Clemson is showing and playing a one-high safety look with either man or zone coverage. Off the snap, Fields sees zone and immediately looks towards the slot receiver near the bottom of the screen. The one-high safety seen before the snap drops down to play the middle hook zone with another defensive back dropping back from the line of scrimmage to play the deep middle. Once the wide receiver breaks inside following his stem, Fields bullets a pass between the middle hook and deep middle zone to where only the receiver can catch it. As the video shows, Fields releases this ball before the receiver can even pass the middle zone safety; a great example of Fields' usage of anticipation. In addition, the throw is low enough, so the pass-catcher isn't blown up by the deep middle defensive back. At the NFL level, receivers take note of which quarterbacks can do that for their teammates. In the next clip, Fields releases the ball even before his teammate turns his back, trusting the wide receiver to gain enough separation following his break: Regardless of the pre-snap motion at the start of the play, Fields sees one-versus-one coverage on the bottom of the screen, a chance for a large gain. The motion before the snap only confirms a one-high safety look. Off the snap, the wide receiver stems outside given the cornerback's inside leverage. Also taking notice of the leverage, Fields immediately sees the cornerback's back to the ball, a perfect opportunity for the comeback route. Starting to stack on top of his opponent, the wide receiver breaks to the sideline at about the 45-yard line. Even with pressure soon to be in his face, Fields launches a dart while still squaring his base towards the target. Throwing the ball even before the wide receiver can turn his back, Fields' anticipation is there. In addition, he throws this ball in a perfect spot despite taking a low hit. Not only is Fields an accurate thrower of the ball, but he's a tough competitor as well. Deep Throws When scouting Fields, one of the first things I noticed is his arm strength and accuracy on deep balls. When looking down the field, Justin is capable of just about any throw. Catching the defense off-guard in this clip, Fields recognizes a clear advantage and delivers a strike. Seeing a one-high safety pre-snap, Fields sees yet another one-versus-one matchup on the bottom of the screen. Clapping his hands before snapping the ball, the Ohio State offense usually stares at the coaching staff because a play has not been called yet, only the formation. The coach then communicates a play based on the defense's alignment. Something they do a lot, they try to catch the defense off-guard by snapping the ball in the process of looking to the sideline. This works to perfection, catching the cornerback out of position to force a go route down the left sideline. Gaining instant separation off the snap, Fields has the opportunity to lob it up for his man. Even with the safety running to help from the other side of the field, Fields decides to throw the ball more inside than the initial route was ran. Despite thinking that was unintentional, it was quite the opposite. If Fields throws this anymore towards the sideline, a successful catch may not result in a touchdown as the receiver's momentum could drive him out of bounds. Instead, Fields throws the ball on the numbers to set up a potential touchdown after the catch. Although the ball was perfectly thrown to the wide receiver, the pass-catcher drops a would-be touchdown. Another perfectly thrown ball down the field, Fields puts the ball in a spot where only his receiver can grab it. A deep throw warranted by bad positioning from the safety, Justin reads the field correctly and produces a large gain for Ohio State. At the top of the screen, the receiver runs a bend, where he slowly approaches the middle field off a go route. The slot on the same side of the field runs a dig, which is schematically supposed to confuse the safety. It does this successfully, as the safety drops down to cover the dig as the other receiver continues to make his way downfield. In addition, the cornerback on the top of the screen opens his hips early, leading to separation as the wide receiver travels inside. From there, Fields has to make the right decision. Throw where the safety isn't. He does this, hitting the bend route in stride for a substantial gain on the play. He waits for the opening, maneuvers in the pocket, and steps into a 50+ yard throw. On Fields' best throw of this game, he again punishes the safety for his poor positioning, creating an easy touchdown for a dynamic Ohio State offense. With Michigan operating out of a two-high safety look, Fields has to read more than one safety's positioning. It's a basic Tampa 2 coverage, where corners play the curl flat zone, a linebacker drops deep middle, and safeties split the deep part of the field. On the top of the screen, the WR runs a go route, running along the sideline enough to not gain the safety's attention. The safety focuses too much on the tight end, letting the receiver get in his blind spot. He runs right past him, warranting an easy decision to lob the ball down the right sideline. In the process of all of this, Fields stays patient in a relatively protected pocket and steps up to buy time. He throws the ball with pressure in his face, delivering a perfect ball to his favorite wide receiver. Athleticism and Execution in Zone Reads Ohio State's offense in 2019 was much simpler than many thought. It required a quarterback with an advanced grasp at zone reads, something Fields excelled at the entire year. An extraordinary athlete with a unique combination of speed and power for the quarterback position, Fields can process zone reads quickly to maximize his athletic prowess. Here, Fields reads the edge defender who bites for the handoff. With an effective offensive line in the run game, most teams were forced to cave to any potential rushing attempt. With that, defenses lost sight of Field's ability in the open field. This time around, the edge (No. 41) crashes inside for the handoff, letting Justin bounce outside off the mesh point. He reads this perfectly, allowing him to show off his athleticism once free. He spins out of one tackle, only to be taken down in an attempt to turn the corner. Even with poor blocking upfront from his receiver core, Justin manages to secure a nice gain on the play. An exciting display of elusiveness in the open field. A zone read concept that makes the right 4i-tech chose a man at mesh point, Fields trusts the blocking in front of him and keeps the ball. While J.K. Dobbins could have turned the corner on the "slow play" from the 4i-tech, Justin makes the safe decision and keeps the ball to himself. On this play, the right guard combos the nose tackle with the center, only to disengage and work up to the second level. The center also disengages from the nose tackle, allowing him to get an angle on Fields. A lack of awareness from the nose lets Fields run right by him, as he thought that Fields handed the ball off. From there, Fields attacks the A-gap, spins out of a tackle, and powers his way to a nice gain. A spoiler into the next section, Fields can not only make correct decisions out of zone reads but can use his athleticism to his advantage. Similar to the clip before, Fields showcases his impressive acceleration and short-area quickness to run in for the touchdown. Once again, the right guard and the center combo block the nose tackle, allowing space to be formed through the A-gap. In addition, the left guard and tackle do a phenomenal job at securing a lane through constant leg drive and knee bend to force their men off the line of scrimmage. Both the right tackle and attached tight end pull away from the camera, leaving No. 97 as the "slow play" read man. He tries to play both options, allowing Fields to outrun him for the score. While this play was orchestrated with exceptional blocking and a late re-direct from the top safety, this touchdown run was a nice example of Fields' toughness and speed in short areas. Off-script Playmaking In the modern NFL, one key trait that is needed to elevate from a great college quarterback to a great NFL prospect is the ability to make plays out of the pocket. Time and time again, Fields shows his ability to maneuver the pocket, defenders, and keep his head up to deliver a pass down the field. Instead of just running once leaving the pocket, Fields keeps his eyes up, lets a receiver get open, squares his base and shoulder downfield, and delivers a strike in the back of the endzone. Something that doesn't come up much in a film review - I like Fields' vertical drop back here. Off the first couple of steps, he doesn't drift into the guard area. He only moves when pressure warrants movement. Once the pressure forces him to move, Fields uses the vacated space and runs to the left boundary, keeping his eyes up for options down the field. Noticing a single high safety alignment once snapping the ball, Fields escapes the pocket to the left side, attracting attention from defenders in the area. Keeping his eyes up, he sees the single-high biting for the top of the screen wide receiver, as he runs a curl/comeback near the sideline. The idea of this route concept is to get the defensive backs to bite for a bubble screen, only for the blockers to extend beyond the line of scrimmage; a schematic way to create leverage/separation. The single high is forced to cover the left boundary WR based on the separation he produces, yet it is only a curl to the sideline. This opens up grass for the seam WR to attack, finding separation as he approaches the endzone. Fields sees this as it's happening, squares his base and shoulders, and delivers a perfect pass in the back of the endzone. Instead of taking a sack or throwing the ball away in a collapsed pocket, Fields extends the play once again and hits the delay man for a nice chunk of yards. Looking like a levels concept to the left sideline, Fields knows he has open grass on the right side of the field. Given a Cover 1 coverage, there's man coverage across the field, setting up a potential delay route as an intriguing option. With the Mike (middle linebacker) pressuring the interior pocket with success, Fields is forced to maneuver his way out of the pocket. Running to his right, he evades a dive attempt but yet still keeps his eyes down the field. Once evading the sack, Fields sees his delay route opening up as the defensive end leaves him to pursue the contain or sack. With this, the delay man (Dobbins) is left wide open, securing the first down after the catch. Not only did JFields keep his eyes on the field once escaping the pocket, but lures an edge defender to set up an open man and first down. A combination of ideal footwork and impressive pocket presence, Fields evades a couple of defenders in the pocket, yet still squares his base and delivers on the throw. Off the snap, one can already see both tackles struggling to maintain their block. The right tackle gets bull rushed, struggling to maintain balance as he gets pushed back. He readjusts his hand placement at the end although, reasserting his position. The left tackle is too slow off the line of scrimmage, prompting the edge defender to win the corner and attack Fields with ease. Not only is he slow off the line of scrimmage, but lunges at the defender with an unbalanced base. Fields feels this and steps up in the pocket before the edge touches him, dodging the would-be sack. He maneuvers himself from pressure a couple more times before finding an open man against the left sideline. In the process of doing this, notice how Fields keeps his feet equally apart for most of his steps, allowing himself to square up to his target with ease. In addition, he's keeping his eyes on the field despite defenders all around him, allowing Justin to find his running back. Ability to Escape Pocket A trait that a starting quarterback needs to have in today's NFL, Fields exhibits the ability to escape the pocket to not only find options down the field but to scramble for extra yards given open grass. With the pocket slowly collapsing around him, Justin notices the green grass to his left and scrambles for the first. On the left side of the field, you see doubles, with the boundary wide receiver running a go, and the slot running a skinny post route. With man coverage across the entire field, Fields realizes he can scramble if no one is open downfield. Even with the quarterback spy, Justin is athletic enough to outrun him in the open field. A player who excels at working advantageous angles on the run, Fields does just that to secure as many yards as he possibly could. An extra element to his game, this is what makes him so intriguing at quarterback. To know exactly when to bail on your progressions and scramble away is hard to do, but Fields has shown potential in this area. A much more collapsed pocket from the start, Fields uses his vision and athleticism to escape an almost-impossible situation and gets the first down. Clemson stunts their left edge defender (5-tech) inside, as they deploy a nickel blitz from that same side. The running back picks up one of the defenders, but another one rushes free to Fields based on the left tackle's inability to pick him up. Justin sees this right away, evading the sack by cutting right, only to cut back left in the sight of another defender. Reading man coverage again, Fields sees open grass down the middle, tucking the ball in and scrambling for a nice gain. Instead of taking the hit, Justin shows off his past passion for baseball and slides to the ground. A simple, yet effective slide recent Jets quarterbacks often fail to do. In addition, while not the fastest quarterback in his class, Justin clearly outpaces the second level of this Clemson defense, maximizing his total gain on the play. The Bad Forcing First Reads A common error in Fields' game during his first year at Ohio State, he would force his first read if left uncomfortable in the pocket. In 2020, Fields already looks much-improved in this area (which we will get into in my next review), but in 2019, this was a part of the growing pains of acclimating to a new offense after transferring from Georgia. Visibly uncomfortable in the pocket due to indecisiveness, Fields forces a go route down the field, disregarding the open crosser route in the middle of the field. With not much of a bite off the play-action, Fields immediately looks towards the downfield double-move go route, hoping for separation. This was clearly the designed first read, as he looks in this direction following the handoff. With only one safety playing back deep, Fields has to throw it to the man the safety chooses not to cover. Reading his eyes, the safety aligns his hips in the direction of the deep route, an immediate indication that Justin needs to hit the crosser. He fails to even look that way, already deciding pre-snap that going deep was the best option. In addition, there seemed to be a miscommunication on the route, where the WR seemed to have bailed on the go once Fields threw it. This resulted in an easy interception, facilitated by Justin forcing his designed first option. An inaccurate ball broken up because of a bad decision and great coverage, Fields throws a near-interception on Ohio State's side of the field. From a schematic standpoint, this play call wasn't the best. Heavily relying on making the second level bite for the play-action to set up a crosser, Fields doesn't even look that way. In addition, the linebackers do a great job at immediately recognizing a pass and dropping back. He looks towards the bottom of the screen, where his wide receiver runs a comeback against the sideline. Virtually an isolation on the right side, the wide receiver has to gain separation on that comeback route. He doesn't, yet Fields throws it anyway. Where Fields is given credit in his attempt at anticipating an open man off the break, the wide receiver breaks off the ball poorly. As for the pass itself, it seemingly hangs in the air and lands too inside, giving the defender a chance at the ball. Fields might have read that matchup as an advantage pre-snap, but great coverage wins every time. Although Fields needs to survey the rest of the field when noticing tight coverage on his first read, the route combination doesn't set the offense up for much success either. This next play was one of the more concerning moments of Fields' short tenure with Ohio State, but it represents an easily fixable issue. For as good of a prospect as Fields is, this play was one of the most concerning seen on tape. To be a successful quarterback in the NFL, one cannot make this mistake. He has to read the safety over the top, and not just what the pre-snap look is giving him. Before the snap, Clemson plays a single-high safety look where both perimeter wide receivers appear to be pressed. This presents an opportunity for one of these two wide receivers to win a one-versus-one matchup, something Fields immediately looks to attack. Once the ball is snapped, the right-side cornerback blitzes while a defensive back drops back to the left half of the field, changing the look from a Cover 1 to Cover 2. Fields doesn't see this, still staring down his WR down the right sideline running a go route. The safety approaching this side of the field reads his eyes, attacking the route over the top. Either not seeing this, or thinking he could fit the ball in, Fields throws the ball to his first read, where the oncoming safety gets the interception. This is a concerning play. At the NFL level, mistakes like these are typical of the league's most disappointing young players. Fields can't narrow his vision to one wide receiver the entire play, as the safety easily reads his eyes and makes the adjustment. A combination of not going through his progressions and not reading the coverage, Fields makes a poor decision regardless. However, field vision is an area where a young quarterback has plenty of time to progress. Missing Easy Throws Missing on relatively easy throws was a recurring issue for Fields when watching his 2019 film. It largely stemmed from a mechanical issue that can be easily fixed, but it happened enough to be worth mentioning. A short throw on a difficult angle, Fields' lack of execution stems from his mechanics on the run. Reacting to interior pressure off the snap, Fields drifts right, hoping to find someone on that side. He sees a drag route opening up, yet needs to angle his throw so the disengaging defender can't tip the pass. Notice how Fields continually pumps the ball in his hands, holding it with one hand then two. This, in addition to Fields not squaring his shoulders towards the target, results in a ball that is much behind the intended target, turning an easy pass into an incompletion and wasted down. Working off an RPO (read-pass option), Fields attempts to hit his man on an out route but fails to transfer his weight on the throw, allowing it to sail on him. Making the correct read to pass on the RPO based on No. 97's (Aidan Hutchinson) positioning, the play call works, as the WR running the out route on the perimeter is open. The leverage is there, yet the execution isn't. He pumps the ball again, one of the reasons the ball sails off the release. In addition, Fields fails to transfer his momentum on the throw, not developing a downhill "arch" as he throws it. While these are just subtle mechanical issues that can be easily fixed, little mistakes like missing short, easy throws can add up over time. Missing Reads My largest criticism about Fields' performance in 2019 is that there were numerous times (especially in his last game, the Fiesta Bowl), where there were glaring missed reads down the field. At times, Fields failed to survey the field, missing opportunities in the pass game. Unable to read the defense's post-snap Cover 3 disguise, Fields misses a wide-open man 20 yards down the field. Based on the pre-snap coverage, it becomes clear that either one or two of the three backfield safeties will drop back, while the others will either play man or hook/curl zone coverage. Once the ball is snapped, you see two of the backfield defenders dropping down, both playing the curl/flat zone on their respective sides of the field. With both of these safeties dropping down, what's left is a Cover 3, where both perimeter defensive backs play bail, and the remaining safety plays the deep middle. The most common way of beating this is verticals. Ohio State looks to be running this until the top of the screen WR stays put at the 45-yard line. Regardless, the middle field safety continues to drop back, leaving the tight end wide open down the seam. Although there's slight pressure in Fields' face, it's not enough to excuse Fields missing a man this wide open 20 yards down the field. This is a potential 40-yard gain, yet Fields cannot progress his reads quick enough to find it. Fortunately, after maneuvering through the pocket enough, he finds an open man close to the first down marker, but this is still a major missed opportunity. On this play, Fields doesn't progress to the open man until defenders close in, making the throw much harder and resulting in an incompletion. A nice example of FIB (formation into boundary), Ohio State uses the extra grass on the right side to scheme an open man down the middle. He runs a dig, yet stops as soon as he reaches the middle field, reading the coverage to help out his QB. As for the coverage, Clemson runs another Cover 3 look, with curl/flat and middle hook zones. Running this, the middle hook zones can be susceptible to routes down the middle they don't have enough depth to cover. This is exactly what happens, yet Fields just doesn't see it. There's a short window to throw it, but one would expect an NFL quarterback to read and make the throw rather quickly. Fields doesn't trust his eyes until the end, and by then, the defenders have already closed in on the slot wide receiver. Once throwing the ball, the window is so small, an incompletion was inevitable. While Fields didn't scramble away, Justin was clearly uncomfortable in the pocket, looking to bail, thus taking his eyes off the field. Even when he throws the ball, he rushes it, as his shoulders nor base is aligned towards the target, causing the inaccurate toss. Another example of FIB, Fields misses an open man on the left side of the field due to his inability to read the defense before the snap. Off the pre-snap motion, a defender follows the tight end, alerting Fields that man coverage is present. With most of the formation against the boundary, Justin's first read has to be the left-side WR running a slant. From there, if the slant isn't open, Fields has to survey the rest of the mesh concept. Instead, off the snap, Fields looks towards the back, even though there are two flat defenders waiting for him. Fields doesn't look beyond the running back, even as the slant route appears wide open off the WR's initial break. While he could have been instructed from the coach to look the running back's way off the snap, if Fields reads the defense and redirects his first read from there, a touchdown pass follows. Given the slant is wide open off the break, this is just a missed coverage read on Justin. Conclusion The best quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft not named Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields is a great second option at the No. 2 pick. Based on the film from his 2019 season, there was a lot to like, but also concerns that had to be fixed in 2020. A terrific thrower of the ball who can excel as a ball carrier in the open field, Fields fits the modern quarterback archetype like a glove. With the ball in his hands, Fields showed time after time in his first season at Ohio State that he can execute the zone read to perfection. In addition to his mental processing out of a zone read, when keeping the ball, Fields consistently used his athleticism to maximizes the gain on the play. Whether it be spinning out of tackles or lowering his shoulder against defenders, I really liked Fields' potential in the run game and how a creative offensive coordinator can maximize that at the next level. As a passer, Justin can make every throw on the field. He has a very talented arm, one strong enough to go deep, hit a comeback or curl route against the sideline, or even squeeze a ball through two defenders. One of my personal favorite attributes of Fields' ability in the pass game was his anticipation. Whether he's slicing between two zones to fit in a pass and lead his wide receiver or throwing a comeback route with his WR's back still to the ball, anticipation was one of the most consistent parts of his game. There is really no limitation to his arm strength. Most of the issues in the passing game lie in his mental processing. Fields' glaring weakness in 2019 as a passer was his inability to progress his reads and how uncomfortable he looked in the pocket at times. When the scheme worked, and the first read was open, Fields almost always delivered. When the play required progressing through his reads, there were problems from time to time. Some of those issues were mechanics-based, but most of it seemed to be Fields not trusting his eyes based on his lack of familiarity with a new system. In the pocket, Fields bailed too quickly at times, missing out on open guys as he took his eyes off the field. As the season progressed, this got better, but there were too many times where Fields looked uncomfortable under center. While pass protection wasn't the best at times, Fields needed to improve upon this in 2020. With the 2020 season already in full force, Fields already looks to be improving in every area at the time of this film review being posted. While Lawrence looks to be QB1 regardless of how good Fields plays, Justin is the ideal dual-threat quarterback in the NFL and should be picked No. 2 in the 2021 NFL Draft. With that said, his talent in both the run and pass game heavily relies on the scheme he's drafted into, one that has to play to his strengths. If his new team fails to adequately build around his strengths, his flaws from 2019 may once again become apparent in his game. Stay tuned for my review of Fields' 2020 film leading up to the draft, which will give us a great opportunity to see how his game has expanded since his first year at Ohio State.

2021 NFL draft film breakdown: Ohio State QB Justin Fields (Part 1)

Sam Crnic looks at Justin Fields‘ 2019 film to project his outlook for the remainder of the 2020 season and the 2021 NFL draft.

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2021 NFL draft film breakdown: Ohio State QB Justin Fields (Part 1)

Sam Crnic looks at Justin Fields‘ 2019 film to project his outlook for the remainder of the 2020 season and the 2021 NFL draft.

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