The Chicago Bears won their fourth game in their five by defeating the Atlanta Falcons 37-17 in Week 17. Amid the speculation that the Bears could opt to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, current QB Justin Fields has elevated his play at the most crucial time of the year.
With the Bears now 7-9 and Fields showing development at the tail of his third season, the team must consider using its draft ammunition to build around him.
Justin Fields Delivers Dominant Performance in Week 17
Fields has been a lightning rod of controversy through his first three seasons, often drawing ire for lackluster passing stats in a league that has demanded efficiency.
Although most would agree that saddling Fields with a first-time play-caller who has underwhelmed (Luke Getsy), a defensive head coach (Matt Eberflus), and arguably the worst supporting cast in the NFL since being drafted, the team has a unique opportunity.
The Bears already opted to keep Fields once, trading out of the 2023 No. 1 overall pick. They received a plethora of picks from the Carolina Panthers and wide receiver DJ Moore. One year later, the Panthers’ first-rounder has already clinched the top overall pick for Chicago.
With the 2024 NFL Draft class boasting two great prospects in USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye, not to mention LSU’s Jayden Daniels, the Bears could look to replace Fields. Fields has one more year on his rookie contract, but the team must decide on his fifth-year option this summer. His replacement would come with a fresh, affordable four-year rookie deal.
But Chicago has a tough decision to make. They could conceivably trade the No. 1 pick for even more of a haul since this quarterback class is more impressive than last year’s, and more teams are in need. Fields, turning 25 this offseason, has improved his output across the board throughout his career despite limitations around him.
The question is whether the dynamic dual-threat is developing quickly enough to pass on Williams or Maye and how the Bears want to shape its offense. Eberflus has likely saved his job by getting closer to .500 after a disastrous start to the year, but more staff changes could come.
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Fields has been an explosive rusher but an inconsistent passer. He’s completing 60.9% of his passes while averaging only 6.7 yards per attempt. He’s cut down on his turnovers and sacks taken, but his rushing numbers also plummeted from 2022 to this year.
The details of the scheme matter here. Getsy failed to get Fields into favorable situations as a rusher and passer earlier in the season, and Fields often played hero ball with a lackluster set of pass catchers. Both Fields and Getsy have improved over the last two months of action, and that growth shouldn’t be totally thrown away.
Fields had one of his best career games on Sunday, completing 20 of 32 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown, and adding 45 yards and a score on the ground. It was his fifth game without an interception, and his fumbling issues didn’t return. He was masterful in the first half, completing 13 of 17 attempts for 166 yards.
How Fields produces is important here. He’s not operating in a simplified offense with great blockers and explosive receivers beyond Moore. He’s often extending plays to buy time and overcome a vanilla scheme.
That doesn’t mean everything has to be torn down around Fields to get more out of him. But Moore isn’t a No. 1 receiver, and the play-calling could get closer to what Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, Ben Johnson, and Bobby Slowiks of the world are doing. With Chicago’s top two picks, imagine adding Marvin Harrison Jr. and a top left tackle like Joe Alt would do for Fields and even Getsy’s ability to maximize their talents.
Evaluators will look beyond Fields’ worst statistical outings and still find moments of brilliance scattered between tough stretches. Isolating Fields’ issues isn’t overly hard, and Chicago’s challenge is determining whether those warts are too severe to overcome and if Williams’ and Maye’s shortcomings are that much more workable.
Unless there’s something we can’t see hindering Fields’ growth, it’s hard to fathom a young QB overcoming the limitations Chicago has had around him through two coaching staffs in three seasons.
He’ll likely land as a starter somewhere in 2024 if it’s not in Chicago, and will the difference between Chicago’s options be worth the draft capital difference?
If the answer is no, and Fields is doing the right things throughout the week, then Fields’ gameplay has done enough talking to assure Chicago that he is their franchise QB.
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