Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears

Author: Dawson Haywood

I always try to write about something that is going to appeal to the entirety of Ok Listen Here's audience but today I'm being selfish and writing about my team, the Chicago Bears, and their new quarterback, Justin Fields. 

I think everybody can agree that the Chicago Bears' move to trade up in the draft last night came as a bit of a shock because the team is notorious for having mediocre quarterbacks. Andy Dalton and Nick Foles fit that criteria. At the end of this season Andy Dalton will be a free agent and after next season Nick Foles will be a free agent. With the failed attempt to trade for Russell Wilson the Bears had to do something to get fans excited for this upcoming season.

Let's talk about the trade the Bears made with the Giants in order to obtain this draft pick. For the #11 pick in the draft the Bears had to give up the #20 and #164 pick in this year's draft as well as their 2022 first round and fourth round picks. That is a lot to give up for one player and reasonably so this makes Bears' fans a bit nervous because of the Mitch Trubisky situation. 

This could be the optimism in me coming out but this was a good move because the Bears do not need that much more to have a complete team. The Bears still have a few picks left in this draft and they need to use these picks to pick up some help for the offensive line and defensive backs units. Fields is going to start out with a great wide receiver group comprised of Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Anthony Miller, Riley Ridley, Javon Wims, and Marquise Goodwin. The big question mark is how will the O-Line perform. 

The Bears had the 8th worst running game in the league last year as well as allowed 37 sacks. Putting a rookie behind an offensive line that is one of the worst in the league is a less than optimal situation, obviously. Being optimistic here, last year the Bears' offensive line was plagued with injuries and inexperience so as long as they can stay healthy this could be a solid offensive line moving forward. This unit is relatively young and is still developing. 

The last thing I would like to discuss is why did Fields drop so far in the draft? Trevor Lawrence was obviously going first but when both Lawrence and Fields were being recruited they were neck and neck as far as skill level goes. Other than this past season Zach Wilson has not had a particularly good season and taking an FCS player over someone who has been to the CFB National Title is always a gamble. 

The Jets have not had a solid quarterback for years. Even in 2008 when Brett Farve played for the team he ended the season with 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. The last time the Jets played a playoff game was in 2010 when they were knocked out in the Conference Championship Game. The Jets have made moves that show promise but it could be a few years before we see the Jets become a playoff team again. If Wilson performs like how the Jets expect him to seeing them in the playoffs could happen soon rather than later.

I do like the 49ers picking up Trey Lance when they did because he is not going to be the starter out the gate and may spend the next two seasons learning under Jimmy Garoppolo. Lance has the opportunity to grow more so than any other quarterback in this draft because of the position he is in. It is likely that he will be more successful in his first season as a starter than Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields because the team is going to have time to figure out his playing style and build a team around him. 

To conclude, Justin Fields to the Chicago Bears is the biggest move the Bears have made since the Khalil Mack trade. The team has the right tools to surround him with and Fields may just be the piece to the puzzle to make the Bears a consistent playoff team. With Aaron Rodgers likely out of Green Bay soon the NFC North is wide open, even for the Lions who have done well this offseason. This season will be an interesting one to follow. 

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