2021 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns Pick Tony Fields II at No. 153

With the 153rd pick in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected linebacker Tony Fields II from West Virginia.

The 6-foot-2 and 222-pound Fields spent his first three years at Arizona before transferring to West Virginia, where he was a First Team All-Big 12 selection and the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

Scouting Reports

Here is a scouting report from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who had Fields as his 14th-ranked linebacker:

A one-year starter at West Virginia, Fields lined up as the middle linebacker in the Mountaineers’ 3-3-5 base scheme, previously lining up as a weakside linebacker during his three seasons in Arizona. He was one of the most impactful free-agent signings in college football last offseason, making all the defensive sets and calls for the Mountaineers and averaging 9.8 tackles per game as a senior. With his natural feel for the game, Fields is quick to diagnose and go with the athleticism and toughness to make plays in the backfield or downfield. A better run-around defender than take-on player, it can be tough for him to operate near the line of scrimmage because of his lack of size. Overall, Fields can be too easily engulfed when he isn’t a step ahead of the play, but he is an instinctive player with above-average play speed to be a rangy run-and-hit weakside linebacker in the NFL.

How He Fits the Browns

The Browns linebacker room was not the strongest in the NFL in 2020, if we are being kind, and general manager Andrew Berry has worked to fix that, first in free agency with Malcolm Walker, and now in the draft with second-round selection Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and now Fields. If Fields can show something on special teams and serve as a poor man’s JOK, he might earn a roster spot this fall.

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What do you think, Browns fans?