Denver Broncos NFL Draft: First-round pick should be one of these 6 guys

3. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

Even over Zach Wilson of BYU, Justin Fields is the second-best quarterback in this draft for me, and you could argue that he has a higher ceiling than Trevor Lawrence.

Fields has size, speed, arm talent, production, he showed leadership by campaigning to play this season when the NCAA had all but shut the college football season down, he was a 2020 team captain for the Buckeyes, he only lost two games with the Buckeyes, and he put some of his best work on film in the biggest situations (see: Clemson playoff game this past season).

On one hand, it’s really hard to believe Fields is not a number one pick candidate. In many drafts, he unquestionably would be.

There are valid issues about his game including field vision and making quick decisions on secondary reads. Although many want to say that Fields is a one-read quarterback, that’s not really the issue. The issue is locking onto reads no matter where they are in the progression and sometimes taking too long to make a decision.

He’s been playing the quarterback position basically his whole life, so while you’re banking on upside with Fields you’re also getting a guy who has been doing this for a long time.

Mike Klis recently said he didn’t think the Denver Broncos would pass on Fields if he were on the board at 9. It would be even better practice for George Paton to trade up for a guy like this.

It’s always possible that the Denver Broncos know things about Fields we all do not. Whatever it is that is keeping the top three teams in the draft from taking him, nobody really knows about it. We’ll see what happens.