During the Jets’ loss at New England this past season, Patriots radio analyst Scott Zolak made a statement about Justin Fields that might be an uncomfortable truth to some.
“I don’t think he’s a quarterback that can run, he’s a running back that can throw,” Zolak said about Justin Fields.
A couple of days after the Jets’ loss in New England, former Jets executive Pat Kirwan said on SiriusXM NFL Radio:
“I have no ill feelings for him – he’s a nice kid,” Kirwan said. “He might have been a running back in the world I came from (scouting), or some type of athlete (wide receiver). Some guys came into the league as a quarterback and became other things – a great one in Pittsburgh (Hines Ward). He was a quarterback at Georgia and became a very good receiver. I would have found a spot because Justin is one of my best athletes, but he’s not a quarterback.”
A more current example is New Orleans’ Taysom Hill, now a tight end/running back, who Jets fans recently saw have a strong game in a Saints win over the Jets late in the season.
Hill was a BYU QB who made a position change to make it on the NFL level, which he has done in spades, just completing his ninth season in the league.
Fields and Hill are similar athletes – Hill is 6-2, 220 with 4.5 speed, and Fields is 6-3, 227 with 4.5 speed.
“We keep talking about this athletic ability. So what? It’s not quarterback ability, and there is a huge difference,” Kirwan said about Fields.
It’s not too late for Fields to change positions. He’s only 26.
Go for it.
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