Ohio State football: Is Chicago a good fit for Justin Fields?

The former Ohio State football player was traded up for by the Bears with the 11th pick. How does hie fit into Chicago’s offense?

Justin Fields was not drafted by the team many came to think was going to take him, but the fortunate franchise who did pick him has a very similar quarterback situation. By yesterday, many believed all signs were pointing to Denver choosing the former Ohio State football player with the ninth pick.

They had just traded for a veteran with plenty of experience as a starter (Teddy Bridgewater) and their incumbent starter (Drew Lock) has been less than stellar. Chicago signed a veteran with plenty of experience as a starter (Andy Dalton) and their incumbent starter (Nick Foles, who split time starting with Mitchell Trubisky last year) has been less than stellar.

The Broncos drafted a cornerback. The Bears drafted the former Ohio State football player. One team helped their defense. The other team got their quarterback of the future. However, the future doesn’t necessarily have to be right now for Chicago and Fields.

Chicago GM Ryan Pace, who made the bold move to trade up and get Fields, told reporters last night the process of how they develop their new quarterback is important. He made it clear Dalton is the starter, but they’re going to have a very good plan in place to bring along Fields.

Pace said they plan to surround him with the correct resources and develop him at the right speed. If Fields has a good preseason, Pace isn’t ruling out installing him as the starter, but he is in no hurry to do so. Dalton is with the team on a one-year contract and is considered a stopgap. Pace and head coach Matt Nagy know Fields is the future of the franchise and want to make sure they do everything right with his development.

After a 12-4 record in 2018, the Bears have been the epitome of mediocre. They are exactly 16-16 over the last two seasons but did manage to make the playoffs in 2020 despite the 8-8 record. Don’t take this as a negative for Fields. I’ll take mediocre over awful any day.

Trevor Lawrence is probably going to take a beating on a bad team in Jacksonville. Fields will be able to sit and learn for a season while the Bears continue to build or if he does play this season, will at least have something around him to work with.

The first thing I think about when it comes to a young quarterback is how well can his team’s offensive line protect him. The Bears line battled through injuries in 2020 but were fairly solid up the middle and improved overall as the season progressed. Drafting a tackle over the next two days is something they should probably do, along with adding some depth.

The Bears do have some weapons at receiver. They think highly enough of Allen Robinson and his 102 catches last year to put the franchise tag on him. Signing him to something long-term is going to be an issue they’ll have to address next year.

Darnell Mooney had a good rookie season with 61 receptions, and tight end Jimmy Graham may not be as young as he used to be (he’ll turn 35 during the season), but he showed he is still an effective weapon with 50 catches and eight touchdowns.

The problem with this position is depth; there is a decided lack of it. This is another area Pace should look to fortify during this Draft. Running back David Montgomery (an Ohio native from Mt. Healthy High School) rushed for over a thousand yards last season and proved to be an adept receiver by hauling in 54 passes.

Chicago is not on the cusp of a Super Bowl. When you’ve had consecutive 8-8 seasons, you can improve or you can slide backward. This team actually took steps forward over the second half of last season when Nagy gave up playing calling duties and turned it over to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.

With Lazor in charge of the offense, they averaged just over thirty points per game during the final six games of the season, including a stretch of four games where they scored at least thirty points. That is something that had not happened for a Bears team since 1965. There is work to be done here, but Fields is certainly not stepping into a situation where a team is starting almost from scratch.

Bears fans are ecstatic. Mel Kiper of ESPN lists Chicago as the biggest winner of the first round. Todd McShay, also of ESPN, loves the pick. So, are the Bears a good fit for Justin Fields? Yes, very much so. He’s not going to be thrown to the wolves on a bad team and get chewed up. He isn’t expected to be their savior RIGHT NOW. I’m very excited about this opportunity for him and think if they handle him correctly, it is going to pay off in spades.

I’m guessing there are some people working in a warehouse today wondering why all of these orders for Chicago paraphernalia are coming in from The Great State of Ohio. If they ask, they’d be told Ohio State football fans are having a “Field day” jumping on the bandwagon of Da Bears.