Justin Fields 2023 Outlook
Many foresee a Jalen Hurts-style third-year leap by Fields in an improved offense that added three-time 1,100-yard WR D.J. Moore, TE Robert Tonyan (11 TDs in '20) and RB D'Onta Foreman and drafted Texas RB Roschon Johnson and Cincinnati WR Tyler Scott. Already a borderline top-5 fantasy QB based on his running skills alone, Fields worked on his short-range accuracy this offseason. "Just being more consistent with my quick-game stuff. ... With getting the ball out faster," said Fields, who was the NFL's most accurate passer on throws 10-19 yards downfield at 66.7 percent in 2022. Bears coach Matt Eberflus stresses that faster processing will lead to fewer sacks (league-high 55) and hopefully fewer fumbles (league-high 16). Fields posted as many 200-yard passing days (two) as games with fewer than 100 air yards last season but balanced it with 10 games of 50-plus ground yards. Among QBs, only Michael Vick (four) had more career games with 130-plus rushing yards than Fields produced in 2022 alone with three.
Justin Fields 2022 Outlook
New head coach Matt Eberflus expects a significant Year 2 leap from Fields. "The development of him for the second year should be a big jump," Eberflus said upon arrival in Chicago. "It should be. That's what we're looking for." During his rookie campaign, Fields flashed glimpses of playmaking ability that provide optimism he can be the decades-long answer to the quarterback conundrum in Chicago. But there were also significant struggles. The previous coaching staff rarely tailored their game plans to fit what Fields did well, and the team lacked sufficient support to allow the rookie to shine. With little cap space, there haven't been splash moves to upgrade the offense around Fields. Without significant upgrades in talent, the Bears are counting on Fields' improvement this fall come from personal strides in how he processes the game. "We're looking for better technique, better fundamentals, better decision-making, better timing, everything," Eberflus said. "He's all on-board on that. He's excited about where he is, and he's been working his tail off. That's what we want, just that big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. ..." If Fields is able to process reads quicker in 2022 than he did as a rookie, that will immediately improve the Bears' offense and put him on a path to the desired leap.
Justin Fields 2021 Outlook
The Bears traded up from No. 20 to No. 11 overall in April's draft to select Fields. And while the team believes they've landed their QB of the future, the starting job will remain Andy Dalton's for now. Coach Matt Nagy said shortly after the draft he wants to implement the same plan that he did as the coordinator for the Chiefs in 2017, when Alex Smith had a career year while future star Patrick Mahomes sat on the bench. All that said, as ESPN.com suggested, the pressure in Chicago to start Fields will be palpable. Of course, the last thing the Bears want is a repeat of what happened with Mitchell Trubisky in 2017, when veteran Mike Glennon struggled so mightily in four games that Chicago had no choice but to turn to Trubisky before he was ready. Unlike Trubisky, Fields is the complete package who will immediately open up Nagy's offense whenever he gets the opportunity. He is a high ceiling passer with an explosive arm who can make any throw across all three levels. The one complaint scouts have with Fields is the need to speed up his on-field processing. It's now on Nagy to develop that skill in a player who has the chance to be a high-caliber professional quarterback -- one with enough talent to even move into the starting lineup ahead of Nagy's desired timetable.
