Tony
Fields.
Tony
Fields.
West Virginia· 6'0"· 222 lb· 4.64s 40
"A 6-0, 222-pound WILL prospect who left Arizona for West Virginia and posted 88 tackles with 3 INTs as a senior, but a 7.15 three-cone and 3.65 RAS pushed him to a Day-3, coverage-plus-teams projection."Pre-draft read
The defender aligns as a nickel-and-dime WILL linebacker, playing primarily in coverage. He processes route distributions on the drop, demonstrating a nuanced ability to jump crossing patterns. He reads the quarterback's eyes through his zone drop, enabling him to chase running backs into the flat and mirror their wheel routes. His footwork in under and hook drops is clean, and he leverages strong recognition with straight-line closing burst.
Against the run, he prioritizes shooting gaps with anticipation over engaging in power. His frame means he tends to ricochet off pulling guards, necessitating reliance on angles and body position for disengagement. He exhibits lateral stiffness, as quick pullers and mobile quarterbacks can cross his face within the second level.
4-2-5 nickel with Cover-3 match principles where linebackers are asked to cover slot receivers and running backs in space.
Core special teamer Year 1 with a ceiling as a nickel sub-package linebacker who excels in pass coverage.
A one-gap 3-4 front that asks linebackers to consistently take on and shed blocks from interior linemen.
Fields projects as a coverage and special teams specialist whose value is maximized in schemes that prioritize his instincts and straight-line speed in sub-packages.
Tony Fields II — Cleveland Browns LB, West Virginia Highlights
West Virginia senior-year tape showing coverage drops, tackling in space, and blitz timing.
Tony Fields II — Freshman All-American highlights at Arizona
2017 Pac-12 freshman season featuring the range, closing speed, and processing that framed the college profile.
Tony Fields interception vs Texans
Rookie-year interception clip showing the coverage instincts and lane-reading that translated to Sundays.
This player projects as a coverage-oriented WILL linebacker, offering immediate contributions in sub-packages and on special teams. His high-level coverage instincts in both zone and man concepts are his primary asset, enabling him to negate pass-catching threats from running backs and tight ends. The value proposition is centered on his ability to read and react in space, filling a specialized role rather than an every-down, run-stuffing presence.
A four-year starter, he split his collegiate career between Arizona (three seasons) and West Virginia (final year, captain). Across his career, he amassed 434 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 15 pass breakups, demonstrating consistent three-down production. His pro day confirmed physical dimensions and athletic profile; straight-line speed complements his film.
Evaluators consistently projected him as a Day 3 selection due to concerns regarding play strength and average change-of-direction, which offset his high-end coverage instincts and straight-line speed. The consensus placed him as a WILL or coverage backer. Cleveland drafted him at pick 153, aligning with expectations for a sub-package and core special teams role.
- 01
Pass coverage IQ
Reads route combinations off the snap, sinks into throwing lanes at the right depth, and produced 4 INT and 15 PBU across four seasons, demonstrating a genuine coverage-linebacker profile.
- 02
Production volume
434 career tackles, 14.5 TFL, 6 sacks, and 4 interceptions across four seasons at two Power-5 programs; multi-year captain at both Arizona and West Virginia.
- 03
Football character
Graduate-transfer captain at WVU under Neal Brown, praised by staff for meeting-room preparation and communication of coverage adjustments to the secondary.
- 04
Straight-line speed
4.64 forty at his Pro Day translates on tape: he ranges to the sideline, chases screens down from the backside, and closes on running backs releasing into the flat.
- 05
Blitz timing
Attacks A-gap and B-gap blitzes with feel for the count and the offensive line's protection slide, showing enough burst to arrive in the quarterback's lap before the throw.
- 01
Play strength
222-pound frame with average length ricochets off pulling guards and struggles to stack and shed at the point of attack against downhill NFL run games.
- 02
Change of direction
7.15 three-cone and 4.48 short shuttle show up on tape: quicker slot receivers and mobile quarterbacks can win the second step when he opens his hips.
- 03
Testing profile
3.65 RAS at linebacker points to a below-average athletic composite; the straight-line speed does not offset the shorter-area agility numbers for an every-down role.
- 04
Take-on technique
Attacks blocks with his shoulder rather than punching and separating with his hands, so bigger tight ends can seal him and remove him from the play.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.64sp50
- Vertical
- 34inp50
- Broad jump
- 114inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.15sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.48sp50
- Bench
- 17repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Indiana | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Indiana | — | 70 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017 | Arizona | 13 | 104 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Arizona | 12 | 81 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Arizona | 12 | 94 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | West Virginia | 9 | 88 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 46 | 437 | 9.5 | 6 | 13 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Converted safety/coverage backer with instincts and speed but limited take-on power — Fields' most realistic outcome.
Undersized coverage-first linebacker who carved out a core-four teams role and rotational sub-package snaps.
Practice-squad-to-teams linebacker if the coverage snaps never come and the frame stays under 225.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Solid rotational hit. Special teams core Year 1, rotational WILL Year 2, 22 tackles in 2023 as depth. Signed 1-year extension in 2024, journeyman rotational LB. On the Browns' roster in 2025 as core teams / LB4.
Pre-draft context. Fields spent three years as a starting linebacker at Arizona (Freshman All-American in 2017) before transferring to West Virginia as a graduate for the 2020 season, where he captained the defense and posted 88 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 6 pass breakups. He closed his career with 434 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 6 sacks, and 4 interceptions. His WVU Pro Day verified 6-0, 222 pounds and produced a mixed athletic file: 4.64 forty and 34-inch vertical showed the straight-line burst, but a 7.15 three-cone, 4.48 short shuttle, and 3.65 RAS at linebacker underlined the change-of-direction and play-strength flags.
NFL fit — Cleveland Browns. Cleveland took him at 153 into a sub-package coverage linebacker role and core special-teams contributor behind Anthony Walker Jr., Sione Takitaki, and Mack Wilson. He played meaningful special-teams snaps as a rookie and picked off Davis Mills for his first career interception in Houston, exactly the kind of coverage-flash play his college tape projected. He stayed in the rotation but never displaced the veterans ahead of him for base-defense work.
Retrospective. Fields carved out a functional four-year run in Cleveland as a rotational linebacker and special-teams piece before hitting free agency, which is roughly the Day-3 outcome the industry graded — a fair, in-slot Round-5 selection rather than a starter hit. The play-strength and change-of-direction flags from the Pro Day never fully went away in the pros, but the coverage instincts translated well enough to keep him on active rosters.