ESPN Analyst Makes Bold Justin Fields Prediction

All reports out of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is that quarterback Justin Fields has seemingly far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Part of that is because Russell Wilson has been injured, giving way to Fields getting the bulk of the first-team reps. And part of it has been Fields showing up much improved from where he was last season.

Because of Fields’ standout performance in camp, ESPN’s Louis Riddick hinted during a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he could be the front-runner to win the Steelers QB competition.

“Based on my conversations, if Justin can continue to ascend like he’s looking in practice, he’s going to start Week 1; he’s going to be the opening-day starter. I thought he was going to be the starter at some point anyway,” Riddick said . “…If [I’m] the GM, I’m kind of reminding Mike that ‘Hey, we don’t owe Russ anything. We don’t owe him the benefit of the doubt. We owe ourselves and this organization to put the best guy out there regardless of how this plays out.’”

Wilson’s calf injury has forced him to miss several days of camp, and when he has practiced, his timing has been off and he hasn’t established a good rapport with his receivers.

Fields, on the other hand, has looked like Pittsburgh’s QB1 from the jump, and he found instant chemistry with No. 1 wideout George Pickens. There’s no question Fields has been the beneficiary of getting the lion’s share of first-team reps, and it just may help him win the starting job.

“We say all the time the best ability is availability,” Riddick added. “This is one of those cases where that could be the deciding factor.”

Related: ESPN Analyst: Steelers Wouldn’t Have Signed Russell Wilson if They’d Known This