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With two weeks to go until the NFL Draft, speculation around which rookie quarterback the San Francisco 49ers will draft third overall is as rampant as ever.
On Wednesday, April 14, Ohio State’s Justin Fields took the field for a second pro day session in front of a handful of teams including the Niners, Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots. As expected, 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, were in attendance, according to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. The former two missed Fields’ first dominant pro day showing back on March 30 to observe Mac Jones at Alabama’s simultaneous pro day.
Prior to the workout, Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver and 49ers legend Jerry Rice took to social media with a strong message for the future first-round quarterback, who has been on the receiving end of some unwarranted rumors and critiques in recent weeks.
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Rice Offers Words of Encouragement to Fields
In a 48-second video posted to his more than 594,000 Instagram followers on Wednesday, Rice spoke directly to Fields to offer some encouragement ahead of his big day.
“Justin Fields, hey man, don’t worry about what they’re saying about you, brother,” Rice said on his Instagram. “You know that you’re a hard worker and you enjoy what you’re doing on the football field. You inspire your teammates to be better.
“Hey, they said the same thing about me. They said I couldn’t run a 40. Yeah, I might have ran a 4.5, 4.6 — I’m not even sure — but for one thing, they didn’t clock me on my way to the end zone. Could nobody catch me. So hey, just let that stuff just blow over your head, man. Congratulations. I’m sure you’re looking forward to the draft, and hopefully, you go high.”
Video Emerges From Fields’ Second Pro Day
Following the private workout, Ohio State’s football Instagram account shared a handful of videos showcasing some throws made by Fields, some of which were scripted by the 49ers staffers in attendance, per David Lombardi of The Athletic.
The university also later posted four photos from the workout, including a side-by-side shot of Fields and Shanahan standing together smiling, with the caption, “Where will Justin Fields go?”
Shanahan to Make Final Decision, Jones Remains Frontrunner
San Francisco has done its due diligence on Fields, Jones and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, the third signal-caller on the team’s radar at No. 3. Jones has quickly leapfrogged both of his counterparts this month as the favorite to be drafted by the Niners, with Adam Schefter telling ESPN Radio “that’ll be the pick” as recently as April 5.
The ESPN insider has since backed off his definitive statement, still the most recent mock drafts from a number of top draft analysts — including Mel Kiper Jr. (April 13), Daniel Jeremiah (April 6) and Todd McShay (April 5) — all still list Jones as the projected selection when the 49ers are put on the clock on April 29.
The Draft Scout’s Matt Miller further backed up the trend in his latest Scouting Notebook on Tuesday, April 13.
“Contrary to what 49ers’ fans want to believe, everything you hear from around the NFL right now points to Mac Jones being the selection. … I will add one thing I mentioned last week on NFL Live, and that’s general manager John Lynch is rumored to like Trey Lance. But this won’t be Lynch’s decision. It’s up to head coach Kyle Shanahan and those close to him and the 49ers’ situation believe it’ll be Jones.”
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on 49ers Facebook community for the latest out of the Bay Area!
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