Former Arizona linebacker Tony Fields II selected by Browns in 5th round of NFL Draft

Former Arizona Wildcats linebacker Tony Fields II was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

The No. 153 overall pick, Fields spent the 2020 season at West Virginia after three productive years at Arizona. He started every game at the UA, logging 287 tackles (17 for loss), 8.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions despite having a different position coach every year.

At West Virginia, Fields had a team-high 88 tackles (four for loss), a sack and an interception while earning All-Big 12 honors.

The Las Vegas native characterized his decision to leave the UA as a “family decision.”

“Me and my father were talking about it all the time,” Fields said (via MetroNews). “I just decided it was best for me to move on and try to go to a different team to help my career. And I ended up at West Virginia. I love the school and I had a great relationship with Coach (Jahmile) Addae already because he recruited me to the University of Arizona.”

Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has to say about Fields’ NFL potential:

Productive linebacker with good feel for blocking schemes and where running backs are eventually headed. While Fields’ patience prevents him from making ill-advised advances that would pull him out of position, he will need to balance his patience with a more controlled aggressiveness when it comes to playing ahead of play designs. He has the instincts to take more chances and will most assuredly need to due to his lack of desired size and play strength. Fields’ inconsistent tackling and below-average third-down potential could further hurt his chances if he doesn’t improve his aggression level against the run.