Wyatt Davis says he ‘laughs at’ pre-draft Justin Fields narratives
At this point, you’d have to be living under a rock to have missed the slew of pre-draft criticisms that have been attached to former Buckeye quarterback Justin Fields, lobbied by talk show pundits and anonymous NFL scouts to explain a slip in the one-time surefire top five pick’s stock.
Wyatt Davis, another former Buckeye vying for a first-round selection on April 29, knows a thing or two about Fields, having served as his starting right guard on the Ohio State offensive line for every one of Fields’ Scarlet and Gray starts.
He’s heard the comments loud and clear, but on an appearance on NFL Network Monday, Davis said he can’t help but scoff at their validity.
“Honestly I think that this certain narrative that you’re talking about that’s getting pushed out, I just kind of sit there and laugh at it,” Davis said.
While Fields won back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards at Ohio State in 2019 and ‘20, Davis became a Big Ten All-Decade selection on the offensive line, and earned consecutive nods as an All-American.
Both considered locks to be first-round picks ahead of their final season at Ohio State –– although Davis more on the fringe –– the pair have seen their status slip a bit in the build-up to April’s draft.
Davis, who played half of this past season with a knee injury that forced him to leave the national championship game in January, did not appear in Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest two-round mock draft for ESPN.
Fields, once thought to be second only to Trevor Lawrence in terms of quarterbacks in his class, has fallen behind passers like Zach Wilson and in some cases, Trey Lance and Mac Jones as well. Kiper has Fields going No. 10 overall to the Patriots in his latest mock draft, but has him slated as the fifth quarterback off the board.
Former NFL quarterback and ESPN pundit Dan Orlovsky recently created something of a firestore by citing that NFL sources told him they thought Fields might not have the drive to be a great player, which is something that Davis disputed on Monday.
“I know the type of guy he is, and the type of guy he is in the film room,” Davis said. “This is a guy that is the last one to leave the facility and the last one to leave the film room and he’s doing everything in his power when it comes to game day to make sure there’s no mistakes.”
In fact, Davis may not have played at all for the Buckeyes this past season if not for Fields, having opted out after the Big Ten initially canceled its football season in the fall.
With Fields subsequently doing a media tour and releasing a petition for the conference to change its mind, the Big Ten eventually reversed its decision, and Davis rejoined the team.
“As far as him loving football and that goes, he was the main one that was pushing the Big Ten to have a season,” Davis said. “So I kind of just sit there and laugh at that narrative. I know what type of player he is and I have to believe that these organizations know the type of player he is.”
No matter where either former Buckeye ends up being selected, both will no doubt have their chance to make waves at the next level. However, Davis believes that in Fields’ case, the teams that buy into the aforementioned narratives will be making a grave error.
“If they slip up on him, I think it’s gonna be a mistake that they’ll regret,” Davis said.