Jeff Reinebold on the slide of Justin Fields' stock: "Think about this kid. He's in the National Championship game, he's got all this physical ability, his stock starts to slide, he has a great Pro Day and his stocks goes up again and now it's sliding again. There's something in there."
Saturday 10 April 2021 07:51, UK
Jeff Reinebold has questioned what and who to believe when it comes to comments contributing to the slide of Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields' stock ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft.
For much of 2019 Fields had been touted as the expected No 2 overall pick behind Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, before seemingly being leap-frogged in 2020 amid a breakout year for BYU's Zach Wilson, who now looks set to become the New York Jets' new franchise man under center.
Not only that, but Fields also faces the once-unimaginable prospect of falling behind Alabama's Mac Jones, who many envision landing with the San Francisco 49ers at No 3 overall, potentially leaving him to battle it out with North Dakota State's supremely-gifted but inexperienced Trey Lance as the fourth quarterback off the board.
There have been supposed murmurs of uncertainty among teams over his ability to move past his first read, while his work ethic has also been targeted - something very quickly shut down by Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
Citing the thoughts of people he has spoken to in the league, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky recently told the Pat McAfee Show: "I have heard that he is a last-guy-in, first-guy-out type of quarterback. Like, not the maniacal work ethic, where is his desire to be a great quarterback?"
Are there legitimate concerns? Or is this a case of teams playing down the talent in order to snag Fields with a lower pick? Either way, Reinebold has called for caution.
"I think it is a dirty part of the process," he said on Inside the Huddle. "But it is part of the process. We're talking about billion-dollar companies competing against each other. You think McDonald's and Burger King like each other much? It just doesn't work that way. I get it.
"I think the thing you have to be cautious of, and there is so much pressure on journalists to make a big splash to get yourself out there, and Orlovsky, who I have respect for as an analyst, to go and say the kid is the last guy in and first guy out, you better have first-hand knowledge of that because now you're attacking the guy's career, his professionalism, his love of football. All of the things that are being evaluated right up until they pull the trigger.
"Dan played in the NFL, he knows that. For him to make that statement is No 1 surprising, and No 2 he would have been told that by somebody and somebody close to Justin Fields."
Fields finished an exceptional 2019 season 208 of 308 passing for 2,953 yards and 40 touchdowns to just one interception, while showcasing his athleticism with 471 rushing yards for 10 scores from 123 carries.
In a shortened 2020 campaign he completed 158 of 225 for 2,100 yards and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions, alongside 81 carries for 383 rushing yards and five touchdowns. His year notably included a six-touchdown display to lead the Buckeyes to a 49-28 victory over Clemson in the playoff semi-final, before Ohio State were eventually beaten by Alabama in the National Championship game.
"There's something about it," continued Reinebold. "Think about this kid. He's in the National Championship game, he's got all this physical ability, his stock starts to slide and then he has a great Pro Day and his stock goes up again and now it's sliding again. There's something in there."
The triumphs of Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State and his subsequent struggles in the NFL have arisen in conversation surrounding why the jury may be out on Fields.
Such is the lack of success for Ohio State quarterbacks in the NFL that Mike Tomczak leads all Buckeyes with 73 career starts over 15 seasons in the league, across which he failed to complete a 16-game season and finished with 106 interceptions to 88 touchdowns.
Cardale Jones and Craig Krenzel were National Championship winners, J.T. Barrett printed his name in the Ohio State history books and Troy Smith won a Heisman Trophy, but none have since succeeded in the NFL.
"I think that some of it has to do with the lack of quarterbacks that have succeeded at a high level out of Ohio State. You can say what you want to say, but when you've had as many great football teams as they've had and they're a team that competes for the Big 10 title every year, they're in the playoffs a tonne of times, they've won National Championships but it doesn't seem like it's a place you go to develop as a quarterback.
"You go back in the history of the game, I asked Shaun Gayle 'when was the last really good quarterback to come out of Ohio State?'. And they've had All Americans,Art Schlichter, Rex Kern, but those guys have never actualised on the NFL stage. I think that has something to do with it."
