Justin Fields playing like a top 2021 NFL Draft pick in first game

Justin Fields is playing like a top pick in his first game of 2020.

The Big Ten, at long last, is back. Among the early slate of games, fans are being treated to the playmaker at quarterback who will likely be the highest-selected Big Ten player in the 2021 NFL Draft: Ohio State QB Justin Fields.

Fields is playing a tremendous game against Nebraska in the Buckeyes’ 2020 season opener, and getting it done with both his arm and his legs.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Fields has completed 17-of-18 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown, and he’s also run for a touchdown and a team-leading 61 yards.

Even with the whole fourth quarter to be played at the time of this writing, Fields is showing why he should be considered a legitimate first overall pick candidate with accuracy and velocity to every level of the field, escape ability, poise, and really just an all-around intangible yet noticeably improved feel for the game.

Fields was awesome in 2019 for the Buckeyes in his first full year as a college starter. He’s picking up right where he left off last year and then some.

Fields has special talent.

Even his lone incompletion through three quarters was a dropped touchdown in the end zone by fellow future NFL player Chris Olave.

Up to this point, Fields hasn’t been considered quite on the same tier as Trevor Lawrence as an NFL prospect. Lawrence has a much bigger body of work at this point, but there were also some who felt like Trey Lance had QB2 honors over Fields.

We’ll have to see what NFL scouts and decision-makers think about that but there is no doubt that against Nebraska, Fields has the look of a future top pick and he’s showing some number one overall pick type stuff out there against the Cornhuskers.