Former NFL QB calls Steelers’ Justin Fields, ‘greatest athlete at quarterback in the game right now’
If you havent noticed by now, let me reiterate that the days of the pure pocket QB have gon the way of the Dodo Bird. Sure there are a few (Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa) but the majority of the league has athletes at the QB position. And according to former NFL QB and […]
If you havent noticed by now, let me reiterate that the days of the pure pocket QB have gon the way of the Dodo Bird.
Sure there are a few (Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa) but the majority of the league has athletes at the QB position.
And according to former NFL QB and current NBC analyst Chris Simms, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the best of the bunch:
Justin Fields comes in at 25 on Chris Simms' QB Rankings
"I think the big thing with Justin Fields is, we've seen growth. We know that he's the greatest athlete at quarterback in the game right now," Simms said on the latest episode of his podcast, Chris Simms Unbuttoned. "I think that's the number one headline. There is nobody that can move and run like Justin Fields, alright? I love his grit, his toughness, right? He lays it on the line to win a football game….He is showing growth as a pocket passer in the NFL, right? But it's still not where you would like it."
Now that statement may seem obvious, but there is a certain two-time MVP in Baltimore who would probably like to have a word with Mr. Simms, but that is another topic for another day.
Fields is an elite athlete, there is no questioning that. He's built like, and runs like a RB with the ball in his hands. He displays vision, burst, top-end speed, and even power on a variety of designed run concepts and scrambles.
But as Simms alluded to, the reason he is out of Chicago isn't because of his running, it's because of his passing. To Simms' point, there has been linear growth in Fields' ability to play from the pocket, but it's not at a level where you can view him as a stable starter, or at least not yet.
And that's what Pittsburgh is betting on, though it's a low-risk bet. In the interim, they have an elite athlete who if he loses the QB competition, is undoubtedly the best backup in the league.
But in the long term, they have a 25-year-old passer who with better infrastructure may blossom into the player that many believed he could be when projecting him to the league out of Ohio State.
Pittsburgh declined Fields' fifth-year option, setting up 2024 to be a huge year in his NFL career as he enters the final season of his rookie contract.
Steelers Joey Porter Jr. puts a target on his back, declares himself the best CB in the league
He wants all the smoke.
