As the day of the draft approaches, there is no shortage of opinions on which of the potential first-quarter defenders 49ers should choose after negotiating up to general choice No. 3 in the NFL’s 2021 Draft.
NBC Sports Bay Area 49ers analyst Jeff Garcia jumped on the radio with Greg Papa and John Lund on Friday and explained why he fell in love with Justin Fields and what he could do in the 49ers attack.
“I loved his leadership skills within his team, I loved his focus, he comes from a good family. I think football is very important in his life,” said Garcia of Fields at KNBR. “He wants to be better every day he walks on the pitch, not only doing this with his athletics, but he wants to prove to people that he is a student of the game, that he has an understanding of how to execute a complex attack, that he can make adjustments during a game that will benefit the team. “
Garcia also believes that Fields is just “scratching the surface” in his ability and has plenty of room to grow in the NFL.
Alabama product Mac Jones continues to warm up as the 49ers’ preference, as coach Kyle Shanahan attended QB’s second Pro Day in person. Garcia explained that he believes Jones would not offer that much upgrade over Jimmy Garoppolo due to his similar “limitations”.
Jones showed an ability to launch bootlegs and rollouts during his Pro Day, but he doesn’t have the same athletic build to extend the moves that Fields has. The former Buckeye ran a 4.44-eyed (and unofficial) race in the 40-yard race on his Professional Day earlier this week.
“I think Justin Fields is in a competitive environment in Ohio, showing the leadership, the physical toughness he has shown on the football field,” continued Garcia. “Battling especially in some of the big games at the end of the season, the blows he took and is still there and delivering.
“I only see a guy who is more mature than his age, and not a typical Ohio State defender, as they made the transition to the NFL and didn’t really flourish. I see this guy as a guy who can flourish. “
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Given that Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson seem like the first two generally accepted choices of late, the 49ers will be inextricably linked to each of these three callers – Fields, Jones and Trey Lance – repeatedly over the next few weeks.
Whoever is chosen will likely have a chance to sit back and learn from Garoppolo, at least in his debut season.
The 49ers won’t have to put pressure on a first-year QB to succeed from the start, a luxury that some of the other teams at the top of this year’s draft don’t have.
The smokescreen season will continue to intensify in the coming weeks, so don’t invest all of your stocks in any of them. Clearly Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are working hard to determine which QB would be the best culture and layout for the 49ers locker room, and we will all find out who it is on April 29th together.
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