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Justin Fields is gearing up for his first season as the Bears’ undisputed starting quarterback, where he’s been focusing on learning a new offense under Luke Getsy and looking to take a step forward in his development.
Fields flashed his potential during a rocky rookie season, where it’s clear he has the tools to develop into Chicago’s franchise quarterback. But where does Fields currently rank among the other quarterbacks in the NFC?
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin ranked all 16 of the NFC’s starting quarterbacks, and Fields landed at 11th — behind San Francisco’s Trey Lance, who has just two career starts.
He and Lance are both essentially projections. Fields, for example, had the benefit of logging 10 starts as a rookie in Chicago, but he’s still an unknown considering the shoddy supporting cast he had in 2021. Unfortunately, the new Bears regime hasn’t done him any favors on offense going into 2022, at least on paper. Like Lance, he’s got all the physical tools, specifically a strong arm and playmaking legs. But can he improve as a decision-maker, and truly develop as a face of the franchise, amid such an iffy lineup?
Benjamin was quick to note that both Fields and Lance were projections as we don’t know what either will look like given their respective circumstances in their rookie year.
Fields has been notably referred as one of the offseason’s biggest offseason losers given new general manager Ryan Poles didn’t surround Fields with any stars at wide receiver or offensive line. But Fields also has the added benefit of finally having an offense that caters to his strengths.
Getsy noted the importance of building an offense around the quarterback first, and we’re expected to see plenty of Fields on the move, a heavy dose of the run game with David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert, and stretching the field vertically with Darnell Mooney and Chicago’s other speedy wideouts.
There’s plenty of room for Fields to improve on this list, where we haven’t seen his ceiling yet.
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