Trevor Lawrence is the quarterback many signal caller hungry teams have their eyes on. Unfortunately, he is not eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft, needing to play one more season at Clemson before entering the draft.

While Lawrence is widely regarded as the top signal caller in next year’s quarterback crop, not all analysts believe he is No. 1 overall. According to Pro Football Focus, Ohio State’s Justin Fields is their preferred quarterback in next year’s draft.

In fact, Fields should be talked about more but Lawrence has the pedigree due to appearing in the National Championship game twice, according to PFF.

“Justin Fields should be ahead of Trevor Lawrence,” PFF said. “He’s graded better, he’s graded better in pro like situations. He’s six-foot-three, it’s not like he’s some shrimpy guy that no one’s ever heard of. Justin Fields ahead of Trevor Lawrence.

“They both project to be better than Tua (Tagovailoa) and a little bit less than (Joe) Burrow, but of course Burrow had the senior year that none of them have had yet. So for right now, it’s Fields then Lawrence and then, if Tua were in next year’s draft, he’d be third.”

Comparing them on the stat sheet, Fields has one year as a starter under his belt. Before transferring to Ohio State and starting in 2019, Fields originally enrolled at Georgia but could not beat out incumbent starter Jake Fromm, who entered the 2020 NFL Draft. Rather than sit behind Fromm for two seasons, Fields elected to transfer and found instant success at Ohio State.

Last year, Fields threw for 3,273 yards, 41 touchdowns, three interceptions and ran for 484 yards and 10 touchdowns. Lawrence threw for 3,665 yards, 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for 563 yards and nine touchdowns. Lawrence is not considered a true dual threat quarterback but compiled fantastic rushing statistics as a quarterback.

Fields thrived in Ryan Day’s system with the Buckeyes, taking advantage of his running ability. A late season injury hampered his dual threat ability, but Fields showcased the arm talent that made him a coveted prospect in high school.

Pro Football Focus believes these two are above the crop of the 2020 NFL Draft class, with the exception of Burrow, who had a historic campaign in 2019 with LSU.

If Fields puts together another season like 2019, he could make teams rethink the quarterback pecking order. Some believe the system allowed Fields to thrive unlike the offensive scheme at Georgia, which was tailored to a strong running game and Fromm’s strengths.

However, Lawrence remained consistent, topping the yardage and touchdown totals from his freshman season (2018). He also won a National Championship and led Clemson to another last season.

The prospects met only once in college as Clemson took on Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semi-Finals last season. Clemson won the game 29-23 as Fields threw a game ending interception in the end zone on a drive that could have won the game outright for the Buckeyes.

In the game, Lawrence played solid but not spectacular, throwing for 259 yards, two touchdowns, completing 18 of 33 passes, but ran for 107 yards and a touchdown. Fields threw for 320 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and completed 30 of 46 passes, while just running for 13 yards on 14 carries.

Ohio State opens the 2020 season at home versus Bowling Green on September 5th while Clemson opens up on the road at Georgia Tech on September 3rd.