Washington Football Team 7-round mock draft: Trading up to No. 5
Round 1, Pick 5: QB Justin Fields, Ohio State
Usually, a trade up for a quarterback will give Washington Football Team fans nightmares. The 2012 draft and Robert Griffin III trade still live in infamy for this franchise.
However, in this draft, a trade up may be worth it. It is my belief that the top four quarterbacks — Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance — all have very high ceilings. A trade up for any of these quarterbacks given their ceilings is worth it.
As of right now, I like Zach Wilson’s film more than Justin Fields and Trey Lance’s. However, in this mock draft the Atlanta Falcons selected Zach Wilson with the No. 4 overall selection. And with Penei Sewell and Ja’Marr Chase off the board, the Cincinnati Bengals were a prime trade up candidate.
With a deep tackle class, they can move to later in the first round to select the blindside protector of Joe Burrow while also gaining more draft capital. Meanwhile, Washington gets to draft their franchise signal-caller. The trade goes as follows:
This trade may seem like a lot but to move up 14 spots. While other teams will still be in the quarterback market, this is probably the price it will cost Washington. It may cost even more. I was willing to part ways with the second as well because Washington holds two third-round picks and Cincinnati valued the second this year over a future second in the simulator.
With the trade up, Washington selects Justin Fields from Ohio State. Fields’ ceiling is still incredibly high. He has all the talent needed to be an elite quarterback in the NFL. He has a rocket arm to go with great speed and quickness for a quarterback
He also fits the bill of what Ron Rivera wants in his franchise quarterback. Every coach at Ohio State raves about the character of Fields. He was clearly the leader of the Buckeyes. He also is, by all accounts, an extremely hard worker and took on more offensive responsibilities in his final year with the Buckeyes.
Within structure, like against Clemson, Fields also showed the capabilities to throw darts all over the field. He can make nearly every throw and he has the velocity to fit his throws into tight windows. Against Clemson, he also displayed his toughness, after taking a massive hit from James Skalski that left him with a hip pointer that he played through.
Against Big 10 competition Fields regularly shows his speed as he goes for mesmerizing runs. His running style is also very similar to that of Cam Newton. Another sign of a Ron Rivera quarterback.
He is not without his faults, however. If you turn on the tape against both Indiana and Northwestern this year, Fields shows some serious warts. One, in particular, is that he sometimes stays on his first read for far too long. Then, as he gets to the next reads, he makes mistakes. Sometimes the talent of Ohio State bailed him out, but he won’t have that benefit in the NFL.
He also seemed to struggle with pressure at times as well. He would become far less accurate under pressure and his pocket movement leaves a little to be desired when under pressure. It is something that he will have to continue to tweak at the next level.
Fields is a quarterback with very high potential and he should be ready to play right away. In structure, he looks like an elite quarterback. He will need to continue to work on his off-script ability and working through his progressions faster but he showed flashes of improvement throughout the season at his flaws.
Given Fields’ incredible talent and high character, Ron Rivera and Co. would be thrilled to acquire him.