National Football League

Justin Fields should be the San Francisco 49ers' clear choice at No. 3

Updated Jul. 21, 2021 5:33 p.m. ET

Paige Dimakos

By Paige Dimakos
Special to FOX Sports

The San Francisco 49ers shocked the football world at the end of March, when they moved all the way up from the No. 12 spot to No. 3 overall a full month before NFL Draft festivities were scheduled to begin in Cleveland.

The buzz in the draft community was palpable, as furious debates began among fans and analysts about whom San Francisco traded up for: Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields or North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance?

However, before everyone on social media could reach deep into their bag of insults to make the case for why the 49ers should draft one passer over the other — Ohio State can’t produce quarterbacks; Lance played high school-level talent — another shocking name was thrown into the mix: Alabama’s Mac Jones.

The reports that Jones could very well be the 49ers’ target at No. 3 were more shocking than the trade itself, and they began a firestorm that lasted through the Alabama, Ohio State and North Dakota State pro days.

With the draft just days away, the debate still rages.

As the weeks have passed, momentum has slowly moved away from Jones and toward Fields as the most likely 49ers pick, but both remain prime contenders to be the third player chosen in the 2021 draft. However, this choice should be simple for general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan.

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Despite the common narratives surrounding him, Fields is one of the better quarterback prospects in recent memory. One of his biggest assets is his fearlessness as a passer and as a runner. He trusts his arm, can make big-time throws anywhere on the field and is a huge asset on the ground when he takes off running.

Like most young quarterbacks, he’ll need some time to develop and learn to read the entire field better, but his ceiling is sky-high. The misconception about his ability to throw beyond his first read has been thoroughly debunked.

Fields entered the 2021 draft process as a top-three quarterback, he remained there throughout the college football season, and he should be there now. Conversely, Jones’ ascension has come in the pre-draft hype process and has mostly been driven by media reports, as he ended the college football season as a distant QB5 for most analysts.

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Jones is solid in many areas but exceptional in few, limiting his potential upside. He isn't particularly athletic for the position and doesn’t have a cannon for an arm. Given his skill set, it’s difficult to imagine him being a significant upgrade from Jimmy Garoppolo in the short or long term.

The 49ers made a franchise-changing move to trade up to No. 3 overall and need a franchise-changing passer to make that transaction worthwhile.

Fields has the upside to be that player for a team in a Super Bowl-winning window.

Paige Dimakos, CEO of The Draft Network and host of the TDN Fantasy show, is a contributor to FOX Sports. Follow her @The_SportsPaige on Twitter and Instagram.