Ohio State QB Justin Fields takes center stage for Jets audience

Justin Fields put on a show with his arm and his legs at his pro day with the Jets well represented in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday.

General manager Joe Douglas, assistant GM Rex Hogan and new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur were on hand to see Fields’ athletic feats that included a 4.44-second 40-yard dash and a throw on the move that was jaw-droppingly impressive, to say the least.

The Jets have the No. 2 pick in next month’s NFL Draft. They’re expected to use it on a quarterback and move on from Sam Darnold - unless Douglas gets a haul for the second selection that he absolutely can’t refuse.

After the Jets dropped from the top spot to No. 2 in the draft, the speculation was Fields would be the pick. But the general feeling heading into the Ohio State pro day was the Jets had BYU’s Zach Wilson ahead of Fields.

Now the Jets will continue to evaluate film, do more zoom interviews with the prospects and wait to see what the physicals show before making their choice.

It will be a defining one for Douglas, who didn’t draft Darnold. The Jets are coming off a 2-14 season and have missed the playoffs for 10 consecutive years. Douglas has gotten mostly a pass because he inherited many of the players on the last two teams. Now he has a chance to firmly put his stamp on the Jets and his legacy with this quarterback decision.

Douglas will listen to input from his trusted assistant Hogan, as well as new coach Robert Saleh and LaFleur. Saleh wasn’t at Fields’ pro day because his wife is due to give birth to their seventh child.

Last week, Douglas, Saleh and LaFleur were in Provo, Utah for Wilson’s pro day, and he certainly didn’t do anything to hurt his chances of being perhaps the second quarterback taken behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.

Wilson’s best throw of the day was on the move, fading left and throwing it about 50 yards downfield to his receiver. The 6-foot-3, 228-pound Fields did something very similar, but his throw was more than 60 yards.

According to Fields, he didn’t add that to his throwing script after seeing Wilson do it. The two trained together in California prior to the pro days and said that play was always part of his plan.

"It’s actually funny," Fields aid. "Me and Zach were both working out in California. We pretty much had a similar script in terms of what throws we were hitting, probably just different movement. That throw was on there before I even left California.

"I thought I could show that throw off and that’s what I showed today."

Fields also showed his speed, which Wilson couldn’t do. He had tweaked his hamstring and chose not to do drills. Fields was disappointed his time in the 40 wasn’t better.

"My goal in the 40-yard dash is to at least be in the 4.3s. I’m kind of mad about that," Fields said. "Other than that, I thought I threw pretty well. I had a few missed throws. That happens. Every pro day is not going to be perfect. Overall, I think I had a pretty solid day."

Whether it was solid enough to help propel Fields back into the top two of the draft will be known in a month. But Fields says he’s driven to be great, and doesn’t believe he should be associated with the struggles past Ohio State quarterbacks have had when they got to the NFL.

"In all honesty I think I’m different than those guys," Fields said. "I know my work ethic is unmatched. Just my dedication and my passion to wanting to be great is just another level.

"In terms of the past quarterbacks I can’t control that. The only similarity that me and those guys have is that we wear the same uniform. I’m going to focus on myself and focus on continuing to get better in every aspect of the game."

Game 17

The NFL approved a 17-game schedule for the upcoming season. The Jets’ additional game will be against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium, so they will have nine home games this year.