We didn’t need to see Justin Fields’ pro day Tuesday to know he could move, but now we can put a number on his speed. According to reports, the Ohio State product ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.44 seconds.
Yeah, that’ll do.
That’s obviously a fast time for a quarterback. If we’re treating the unofficial time as canon, would put him in the same speed range as Robert Griffin III. And based on past combine data going back to the turn of the century, which is a bit more reliable than pro day measurements, there are only a handful of quarterbacks who ran faster than Fields and all of those guys were undersized.
Only 1st-Round QB to run a faster 40 time at the Combine since 2006 than Justin Fields’ unofficial 4.44 today was Robert Griffin III, who ran a 4.41 at the 2012 Combine. https://t.co/dDLMkPgtwA
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 30, 2021
Fields is not undersized. He’s a big quarterback, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing nearly 230 pounds. That makes his 40 time even more impressive. Not only can Fields burn defenses with the ball in his hands, but he can also (presumably) withstand the beating he might take as a ball carrier.
Now, what does it mean for Fields’ draft prospects? It looks like Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are already locked into the top-two picks, so the 49ers, now drafting at No. 3 after swinging a trade with the Dolphins, could be a landing spot.
Kyle Shanahan will likely have the final say on the pick, and his past comments might explain why Fields could be his choice.
First, here’s Shanahan explaining how much stress the option run game puts on a defense:
“It’s a very sound scheme. It’s how do you want to attack it? What do you want to do off it when they 100% commit to stop it? Which you can, but that opens up everything else, so what do you do to scare them out of everything else? Is your quarterback good enough to run with the football to make them commit to stop it. And once they do, is he good enough to make the passes that he has to that they just opened up. And if he is, that’s a huge issue. It’s tough to find that guy. And if you don’t protect him right, if you don’t do the right stuff, it is tough to stay healthy.”
And here’s Shanahan explaining why he didn’t have Johnny Manziel running zone read as frequently as Griffin did for him in Washington.
Via 247Sports.com:
“Everyone there wanted me to run the same stuff with him as we did with RGIII. Well RGIII runs a 4.3, Johnny runs a 4.68. That is a different type of running style. Johnny is not going to outrun people on a zone read. Johnny needs to go downhill and make you miss which is quarterback draw, quarterback power, things like that. The problem with that stuff is that’s where you get hit. You don’t get hit going to the sideline, you get hit going downhill and Johnny has the quickness to make people miss but the next guy is going to kill him. You can’t do that all game in the NFL, that was my worry for Johnny, that you couldn’t develop a running game to protect him without him getting hurt.”
So we know Shanahan recognizes the immense value that a run threat at quarterback can add to an offense. And we know he believes that the quarterback also needs to be able to beat defenses in the passing game to fully take advantage. And he also says that QB better have elite speed if he’s going to avoid hits.
Well … Justin Fields’ film confirms that he’s a threat on the ground and can make all the throws to punish defenses. And, now that he’s run a 4.4 40-yard-dash, we can confirm that he has the speed to turn the corner and punish defenses with his speed, which will help him avoid hits. Shanahan should like him a lot.
There’s been a lot of discourse this week about the ideal quarterback for Shanahan’s system and, for whatever reason, the less physically talented quarterbacks who thrived in his offense have been pointed to as the prototypes. But the two best offenses Shanahan has put together as a play-caller — 2012 Washington and 2016 Falcons — had top-3 picks behind center.
Sure, the offense works with a Matt Schaub or Kirk Cousins behind the center. But with top talent at quarterback, Shanahan can supercharge this scheme.
Mac Jones isn’t going to give him that. We shouldn’t have needed Fields’ 40 time to realize he could provide that boost, but now there shouldn’t be a question.