At long last, the draft is just about here! That means all of the speculation around who the 49ers will take with the 3rd pick is almost over, but I figured I might as well put together some comprehensive thoughts on the matter instead of just some tweets about the quarterbacks here or there. Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are widely expected to be the first two selections by the Jaguars and Jets, respectively, so mock drafts all essentially start with which passer San Francisco selects. Since the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch regime has been remarkably quiet in terms of media leaks, let's ignore all of the rumors about who the likely pick will be for now and dig into the options.
Justin Fields is the second best prospect in my eyes, even ahead of Wilson, with his combination of a high ceiling and floor. At ages 20 and 21, he performed at the highest level to lead Ohio State to a 20-2 record with the two losses only coming in the College Football Playoff. Between the two seasons, he completed 68.39% of his 26.32 attempts per game to average 244.23 passing yards with 63 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions for an impressive Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A) of 10.76, and he added 39.41 rushing yards per game with 15 more touchdowns on the ground. It's worth remembering that yards lost on sacks count as negative rushing yards in college, but in any case, he proved that he is much more of a passer than a runner even with his elite physical profile.
