Justin Fields Goes Fourth Overall in ESPN's Todd McShay's Latest Mock Draft

Todd McShay thinks a top-5 pick is possible for Fields, but some Ohio State fans may disagree with which players McShay thinks will be picked ahead of him.

Now that the Super Bowl is behind us and college football season having concluded one month ago, all eyes are on the upcoming NFL Draft. In particular, Ohio State fans are wondering how many of their former players will be taken in the first round of April's draft and how high Justin Fields will be taken.

ESPN college football analyst and NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay has been busy putting together his latest draft board and simulating how he sees the first round shaking out in two months.

In his latest Mock Draft 2.0, McShay is expecting Justin Fields to be selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Falcons. While Ohio State fans might like hearing that, McShay is predicting in this latest simulation that Fields will actually be the fourth quarterback off the board.

The NFL Draft has never begun with selections of four consecutive quarterbacks to start the first round in league history.

McShay says former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer will open his tenure in Jacksonville by taking Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. Then the Jets will select BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, followed by the Panthers (who would trade up with Miami) taking North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.

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However, McShay also says that Fields will be the only Buckeye taken in the first round of the draft (at least in this mock draft). Former Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis is also highly graded and could be a first round pick.

Here is what McShay wrote about Fields:

Atlanta is going to want to move out of this spot and pick up some extra draft capital, and there will likely be plenty of interest from other teams. It needs reinforcements at edge, offensive line, running back, tight end and linebacker. Quarterback, however, is not a dire situation, as

Matt Ryan

is still highly productive and under contract through 2023. But if the Falcons can't trade out, will they really pass on the opportunity to draft their QB of the future? It's no given that they will be drafting this high again any time soon, and Ryan is turning 36.

There are some consistency concerns, but Fields will be a talented NFL starter with an ability to drive the ball and make plays off-schedule outside of the pocket. In two seasons as the Buckeyes' starter, he has 63 touchdown passes and just nine interceptions. If it plays out like this, it would be the first time that quarterbacks have gone 1-2-3-4 to begin Round 1.

The Buckeyes have had more than one first round pick in each of the last five NFL Drafts, including three players taken in last year's first round (Chase Young in Washington, Jeff Okudah in Detroit, Damon Arnette in Las Vegas).

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