One of the many qualities that nudged the Chicago Bears to move up and select Justin Fields as the No. 11 pick of the 2021 NFL draft was his ability to throw the deep ball.
We saw it many times at Ohio State when he ripped off a rainbow right in the arms of receivers that have gotten behind the defense. For exhibit 1A, all you have to do is turn on the Sugar Bowl from last season against Clemson to see his ability to put the ball on target deep down the field.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy touched on that subject after Wednesday’s OTA practice. One of the many throws Fields unleashed was a deep ball to wide receiver Damiere Byrd for a long touchdown that left Nagy waxing poetic.
“We talk about ‘air time,’” Nagy said. “‘Air time’ meaning when the wide receiver looks like he’s covered to everybody in the stadium — but when that ball touches the top of the stadium and starts coming down, the wide receiver separates. And that’s what happened on that ball. And [Byrd] made a hell of a catch.”
Justin Fields had a gorgeous deep ball to Damiere Byrd down the sideline today. Matt Nagy said “He has that mentality to rip your heart out.”
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) June 9, 2021
It’s a mentality according to the guy wearing the headset in the Windy City. Not all quarterbacks have it, but when opportunities arise to take advantage of a receiver that’s taken the top off of the defense, Fields goes for it. He’s opportunistic and confident, much like what we saw when he was unleashing bombs against the competition at Ohio State.
“(Fields) has that mentality of rip your heart out,” Nagy told reporters Wednesday. “And so there were a couple of plays in there — and not just (Wednesday) but other days — where these quarterbacks are staying aggressive.”
Fields continues to impress in Chicago, but it’ll all mean little if he doesn’t do it in a game setting. He has the skills to be a difference-maker, but when and if that happens remains to be seen.
We like Fields’ chances. We look forward to seeing him rip opposing teams’ hearts out at some point in 2021.