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2021 NFL MOCK DRAFT - WALT'S | CHARLIE'S ROUND: 1

Teams see Slowed Development for Lance, Fields

Updated Aug. 19, 2020
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.

The decision to cancel college football this fall for the Big Ten and North Dakota State could have a vast and long lasting impact on two of the prominent prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and the Bison's Trey Lance are both projected to be high first-round picks. While the lost season is not expected to drop them down draft boards, pro teams do think that both players will have their developments slowed down, which could be problematic for them succeeding in the NFL.

"There's no substitute for playing experience, pre- and post-draft," said one director of college scouting. Both Fields and Lance have only been starters for one season, and they need more developmental reps at the college level. Some evaluators feel that Fields has problems facing the blitz, while Lance did not close out the 2019 season as well when other teams had more tape on him and the competition got better in the playoffs.

Overall, each had great success, with Fields leading the Buckeyes into the college football playoff and Lance helping his team to another national title. NFL teams, however, are wary of 1-year-wonder quarterbacks, so having only season of playing time will be a negative for both players, especially Lance. In May, WalterFootball.com spoke with a national scout who watched Lance last year.

"Recent history has not been kind to the 1-year-wonder surge guys. It has not been ideal for the picks of guys like Mitch Trubisky, Blake Bortles, Dwayne Haskins, DeShone Kizer, Paxton Lynch, etc. At [Lance's] level of competition, you definitely want to have more than good season. I like him though, but not ready to crown him just yet."

That statement was made months before the decision was made to cancel the season. Other team sources said they were not as concerned about Fields missing the reps from the lost season. Here's what one area scout said about Fields, "I think guys are comfortable evaluating [Fields] because he's actually played in big games. I think of teams will be worried about Lance. Both of those will be rusty not playing football for a season, so we can't kill them for their rookie seasons."

Both Lance and Fields could use the reps to get better. The NFL does not always have patience with young players; consider how long players like Bortles, Kizer and Lynch lasted with the franchises that drafted them - not long. Even more striking, less than year after trading into the top 10 for UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, the Cardinals traded Rosen away and drafted a new quarterback in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Thus, the lack of developmental time could really hurt Fields and Lance.

That also applies to players like Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau and Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley. Rousseau was a 1-year wonder at Miami, while Farley played wide receiver initially, tore an ACL, struggled at corner in 2018, and then had a good 2019 season while playing with a back injury. Thus, the COVID-19 situation will be fascinating to watch, with some players rising off performing well in games and others seeing their developments stalled by missing the fall season. As the college director above stated, there is no substitute for experience and evaluators around the league believe that Lance and Fields among others will have their development slowed from the missing season.