2021 3-round NFL mock draft: Washington Football Team adds a QB

3. San Francisco 49ers: Ohio State QB Justin Fields

I don’t want to say that the 49ers will fail if they select Mac Jones here, because they could ultimately succeed with Jones. However, we don’t know the outcomes that await each quarterback at this point. We do know, however, that it depends heavily on their developmental upside.

Taking developmental upside into account, I prefer both Fields and Trey Lance over Jones. Lance is an excellent fit for Kyle Shanahan’s system, but Fields has the higher floor at this point, with comparably high upside. He’s an elite athlete with a rocket arm, and he’s smarter than people give him credit for. He can officially silence the doubters in San Francisco.