Sky is the limit for Justin Fields

by Bo Marchionte
Published May 25, 2024, 09:38 AM

Pittsburgh, PA – Ben Roethlisberger popped up in my mind earlier this week watching OTA sessions on the South Side of Pittsburgh. 

Roethlisberger was the immovable object in the pocket with defenders bouncing off his 6-foot-5 and 240-pound frame, he was the dually pickup truck, while Justin Fields looks like a souped-up muscle car ready to drive fast and furious. 

The contrast between Roethlisberger and Fields are polar opposites. Ben will undoubtedly wear a gold jacket in Canton, Ohio while Fields and his amazingly gifted skillset are at a crossroads.

The offensive skill players were collectively doing a drill and that’s when Fields appeared.

The players sifted through a football tackle sled. A machine consisting of two rows of what look like hanging punching bags tightly compacted with resistance. Each player powers through the bags and exits into a series of cuts from the left to the right while simultaneously avoiding the coaches slapping the football.  

You see Fields and think – Wow! It validates why he was invited to the Elite 11 quarterback competition in 2017, his senior year of high school and was named MVP of the event. 

Physically he boasts a well-defined muscular frame. His upper body strength is evident in his broad shoulders and bulked up arms. The lower half of Fields consists of a thick waist with thighs that would make any running back in the league envious. 

“I’m a good runner,” Fields said after wrapping up the first week of OTAs. “I don’t know what the scale is to rank myself, but I’d say you know, I can definitely be productive on my feet when I need to be.”

That’s putting it lightly. 

He moves with a rare combination of speed, agility, and grace. Effortlessly weaving through the opposition. Hence, it’s why he became one of three quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season.

Fields joined both Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson in the exclusive club that highlights exactly how spectacular Fields is once the play becomes unmanageable in the pocket and he needs to escape. 

“I have the defense thinking about it all the time,” Fields said of his ability to keep them guessing on which way he’ll go about trying to pick up yards. 

Arthur Smith, the Steelers new offensive coordinator, ran Marcus Mariota a career high 85 times in 2022 while he was the head coach in Atlanta. During his time with the Falcons the running game and more importantly the quarterback were intertwined. 

A lot must happen before Smith and Fields join forces and look to get the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft back on track towards a stellar not complicated career after three years in Chicago.  

Newly signed Russell Wilson must underperform or miss significant time with an injury before Fields can bask in the glory of being the most beloved quarterback in the city of Pittsburgh. However, that’s the excitement of Fields. He might possibly be the most beloved quarterback in the city and hasn’t thrown a single pass. 

Hell, he still might be the most beloved quarterback in Chicago. 

It’s the charisma of his style of play that leaves everyone routing for Fields to develop into one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. Anyone wearing black-and-yellow in Acrisure Stadium will double down on the outcome. 

“I think for me I just got to keep working every day,” Fields said on what it takes to help him achieve that jump from the average to the extraordinary at quarterback. 

“Just being detailed and not taking a day off. Having Russ (Wilson) here and learning from him, with us pushing each other every day. I’m going to control what I can control every time I step on the field. Just ball out and play to the best of my abilities.”

Fields must raise his level of play in the passing game and erase turnovers. Him becoming even a notch or two better in the passing game could elevate him to another level and that is where Smith can impact Fields’ career by leaps and bounds. 

“He’s got experience with a lot of quarterbacks,” Fields said of his new OC. “He knows how to play to his players’ strengths.”

The strength of Fields is using his legs to exploit defenses. 

Will we see that come to fruition in Pittsburgh?

If Fields develops, the team can become dynamic. That’s the type of talent Fields possesses. Tapping that natural resource out of the 25-year-old from Kennesaw, Georgia has just bubbled near the surface.

We need it to explode like a geyser towards the sky.

Because the sky’s the limit with Fields.