In a league where the offense takes the headlines every day of the week and twice on Sundays, the NFL experienced a huge intake of rookie quarterbacks entering through this year’s draft, and Ohio State’s Justin Fields is the biggest wildcard to come out of it. With the Chicago Bears looking to try and salvage some sort of playoff relevancy for incumbent head coach Matt Nagy, this rests on the shoulders of Fields and what he can do with a middle-of-the-road offensive unit.
For Fields, he entered the draft never truly penciled into a slot, never reaching the pinnacle that was set with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. Seen as one of the most well-rounded prospects in this draft with no set landing spot, Fields truly was going to be the element that put this year’s draft on its head.
The Bears are in desperate need of something to go their way, especially since their last QB investment, Mitch Trubisky, ended up becoming a bust and sandwiched by two stud options in Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. As a member of the tough NFC North division that consistently is headlined by the Green Bay Packers, adding a player of the caliber that Fields is the one thing that can turn their fortunes around.
The only element that Fields needs to do is overcome Andy Dalton, who was handed an expensive one-year deal to hold onto the starting role until the rookie was groomed to be ready. The team did not use a first-round pick on a guy just to sit him for a year, so Fields will be seeing plenty of playing time in his first season – Nagy’s job depends on it.
2021 Projected Statistics
12 Starts / 298 for 507 / 3,052 yards / 24 TDs / 11 INTs / 269 rushing yards / 5 rushing TDs
The kind of role that Dalton holds coming out of training camp will be the biggest speed bump for Fields to overcome – handing over $10 million (with another $3 million in achievable incentives) is nothing small and certainly will be a big reason why Dalton earns far too many snaps to open the calendar.
Expecting Dalton to hold down the fort for the first four or five games of the season is likely and would hold serve to how high-profile rookie QBs have been treated in the past as well. Making sure this draft pick was the right choice and is not rushed into anything can very well be the difference between a Nagy extension and a new zip code for the former Kansas City Chiefs coach.
Showing development and improvements, even if just through playbook mastery and training reps, will be ground-floor expectations for Fields and elements that can help back up Nagy and his abilities. The Bears are expected to take their fair share of lumps this season, regardless of whoever is standing behind center, so working Fields into a starting routine is going to be key for this team moving forward.
While producing a sub-60 percent completion percentage across 12 games may reflect poorly on the OSU product, that result may be more due to his surrounding weapons and less to do with Fields as a rookie. Outside of Allen Robinson, the options include overpaid Jimmy Graham, draft bust Anthony Miller, up-and-coming Darnell Mooney, and deserving of a bigger role Cole Kmet.
As this year’s 11th overall selection, Fields produced at a superstar level with the Buckeyes. In his two years as a starter in Columbus, Fields completed over 67 percent of his passes in both seasons, so accuracy is not a problem when he has the right weapons around him.
Putting up just over 3,000 yards through the air and 24 touchdowns represent a season of consistently playing behind for the Bears, an element they have become all too familiar with lately. Their roster is built to be a regular competitor for the Wild Card spots, yet internal mistakes and dysfunction have caused them to miss out on the postseason.
Double-digit interceptions will make him seem like the second coming of Trubisky, but again, a vast majority of that may be chalked up to his cast of weapons around him. Also, opposing defenses may feel more content honing in on David Montgomery and the run, forcing Fields to have to beat opponents with his arm, which could cause more turnovers to occur.
His abilities on the ground were evident ever since he received regular playing time in college (just over 1,10 rushing yards across his three collegiate seasons), and he will receive plenty of opportunities to do that under Nagy as well. Being able to take advantage of his legs will certainly open up the playbook for Nagy, something that can go a long way towards helping Fields get up to game speed even quicker.
As the biggest wild card to enter the NFC North division, Fields joins the uncertainty in Chicago with one goal in mind – helping get the Bears back into relevancy. While their division certainly will make that a tough goal to achieve, it will be interesting if the coaching staff ends up getting in its own way again and slowing down what could be a postseason-eligible year.
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