Career Contextualization: Justin Fields

Much like the other members of his draft class, Justin Fields struggled during his rookie campaign, which wasn’t wholly his fault. But unfortunately, the best way to describe his rookie season was choppy and inconclusive.

Fields started the year on the bench, coming in sporadically during the season’s first two weeks. Then, after Andy Dalton suffered an injury, Matt Nagy’s hand was forced to start Fields. The Ohio State product started the next eight games before cracked ribs cost him two games. He came back to start in Weeks 14 and 15 before an ankle injury, and a positive COVID-19 test cost him the final three games of his rookie year.

Justin Fields started 10 games for Chicago in his debut season, completing 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,870 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Fields also put his mobility on display, sometimes out of necessity, rushing 72 times for 420 yards and two scores.

There were moments of growth, but between the injuries and the awful situation around him, Fields’ rookie season was sort of a wash. It was irrelevant from a fantasy standpoint.

Current Situation

Like Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields was limited by an incompetent coach and a dreadful roster. Fortunately for Fields and Bears fans, Matt Nagy is no longer with the team. Enter Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who brought in Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy to be his offensive coordinator. Getsy will likely design an offense similar to what Matt LaFleur runs in Green Bay, which could resemble Kyle Shanahan’s scheme.

Chicago’s new regime focused on cutting the fat from the current roster and didn’t do much to fix the offense during free agency. Chicago lost guard James Daniels in free agency and brought in linemen Lucas Patrick and Dakota Dozier as replacements. The hope is that a year of health will help second-year tackle Teven Jenkins develop into a franchise left tackle. This unit, which allowed 58 sacks in 2021, is still a serious work in progress.

Chicago also made marginal additions to the passing game, signing Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown to join leading receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet. In addition, David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert will be back to pace the backfield.

The Bears are hitting the reset button with a new GM and new head coach. While that’s ultimately the best direction, it comes at a tough time for Fields, who will have to learn a new offense in his second season. Chicago will need to give Fields some help with their six draft picks. The Bears don’t have a first-round pick, but they could find an impact player with the 39th, 48th or 71st picks on Day 2 of the draft.

Prediction for 2022 and Rest of Career

Nothing bugs me more than when a team fires their head coach with a rookie quarterback entering his second season. We’ve seen this movie too many times, and it tends to stunt the development of young passers. Fields’ messy rookie season makes him a tough player to evaluate moving forward.

The good news is that Fields is immensely talented and could overcome a lackluster supporting cast with the right coaching. In addition, his dual-threat abilities will give him a safer floor than the others in his rookie class.

But as of right now, Fields is a total unknown. Nobody knows what Getsy will bring as a first-year offensive coordinator. And while Mooney is a really nice player, he profiles more as a No. 2 receiver complementing an alpha receiver. The hope is Chicago can land a rookie pass catcher in the deep 2022 class.

It’s hard to give up on someone you drafted to lead your team for years to come in a dynasty format. However, Justin Fields is a hold in dynasty, recognizing that things might worsen for him in 2022 before they get better.

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