Justin Fields’ Father Believes He’s Built To Take NFL Draft Criticism

Fields has been the subject of heavy criticism leading up to Thursday’s draft.

After months of scrutiny and speculation about where he’ll end up, former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields will finally hear his name called in tonight’s NFL Draft (8 p.m. on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network).

Fields was once viewed as the second-best quarterback in the draft, behind only Clemson quarterback and projected No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. But then critics starting questioning his work ethic and love for the game of football, which caused his draft stock to fall.

Mock drafts now have Fields going anywhere from No. 3 overall to the San Francisco 49ers to the middle of the first round as the fifth quarterback taken behind BYU’s Zach Wilson, Alabama’s Mac Jones and North Dakota’s Trey Lance. But Fields’ father, Pablo, said his son and their family have been unfazed by all of the pre-draft talk.

'We're built for this.' Justin Fields' father takes draft scrutiny in stride https://t.co/ThMfQEPOmv

— BuckeyeXtra.com (@BuckeyeXtra) April 28, 2021

“We are a family of faith, so we believe wherever he goes, it's where God wants him to go,” Pablo Fields told The Columbus Dispatch. “Friends have sent me text messages: ‘Oh, man, this is so bad how they're treating Justin. I'm praying for you guys.’ And I'm like, ‘You idiot. He's getting ready to be drafted, most likely in the first round, and be an NFL football player and paid a king's ransom to play a kid's game. And you're saying that I'm over here depressed and crying in a pillow?’ I mean, come on, this is part of the territory.”

The elder Fields noted the only comments that got under his son’s skin were those of former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, whose remarks on a radio show in late March garnered significant backlash on social media and from those close to Fields, including Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

“The Orlovsky fellow called Justin and apologized 10 times over,” Pablo Fields said. “He said he was irresponsible for putting that out without doing verification.”

This isn’t the first time the Fields’ have had to deal with outsiders questioning Justin’s motives, as they dealt with backlash after he announced his transfer from Georgia to Ohio State ahead of the 2019 season. The family took it in stride, though, just as they're doing now.

“A bunch of things that were said were untrue,” Pablo Fields said. “We’re built for it. We went through it and we’re better for it, honestly.”

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