The Chicago Bears want everybody guessing as to what they will do. The less people know about their intentions, the better. GM Ryan Poles has no reason to be clear about his plans. That would only make things easier on other teams. Nothing spurs rash decisions like the unknown. This is why the NFL draft rumors are already rampant. People are trying to figure out what the Bears will do with the #1 overall pick. Some think they’ll trade it. Others believe they’ll stay put and take the best defender on the board. Some even think Poles might pivot at quarterback, taking Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud and trading Justin Fields.
Anything is possible. Minds can change a lot in the space of almost three months. Players can sway teams with their interviews. Poles might get cold feet with an original decision and opt for a change. That is why this time of year is so unpredictable. Rich Eisen decided to seek some details on the matter. He spoke with national insider Albert Breer of the MMQB. Breer has proven sources where the Bears are concerned, so what he had to say was interesting. It seems two things are expected. Chicago will keep Fields at quarterback, and they will trade the #1 pick (or try to).
This lines up with the most logical Chicago Bears course.
It makes sense. Fields played well enough in 2022 to deserve another season as the starter. He was an elite threat as a runner and made progress as a passer despite a rough situation around him on the offensive line and at wide receiver. The Bears can use this off-season to bolster the offense and then go into 2023 with a chance at a far more fair evaluation of him. If he excels? Great. The Bears will know they have their guy. If not, they can start thinking about quarterback options in 2024 when the roster is in a far better place.
As for the #1 pick, that is hard to determine. The Chicago Bears are in a great spot. They have two quarterback-desperate teams behind them in Houston (#2) and Indianapolis (#4). Their being division rivals makes it even better. If one of the top 2023 quarterbacks makes the right impression on either of those front offices, then Poles should have no problem getting offers to move down. If he doesn’t, then he can take the player he thinks is the best in the entire draft. It’s a pretty sweet spot to be in.
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Brian —
Consider what Amelia Probst and Haley English, of Pro Football Focus (PFF) wrote on
Nov 4, 2022:
“Still, it doesn’t help that Fields holds the ball for 3.43 seconds on average — by far the longest time in the league and well above the league average of 2.73 seconds. And as we know, there is only so much an offensive line can do when a quarterback holds on to the ball for that long.”
Eberflus and Getsy told us the same thing — and Ryan Poles has been listening– and watching, too.
For those of you (Thomas Gena and Ghost) Fields has almost no OL with a center who is like 40 years old, and no support, so he just has to run. Look at the statlines again, and you see that none of these receivers were even in the league in 2022, and the bears had to go to their practice squad to get them. Darnell Mooney was out, and Chase Claypool provided no support. Don’t give me that Fields didn’t improve as Matt Nagy just wasted a year of development.
If you’re looking for “improvement” in Justin Fields’ NFL development, don’t look here: (the stat lines from his first and last NFL games, as the Bears starting QB. ● Sep. 26, 2021 (26 – 6 Loss vs. Browns) 6 completions in 20 attempts, for 68 yards;; 0 TD; 0 INT; sacked nine times. Passes completed to: Allen Robinson (2/27); David Montgomery (2/21); Cole Kmet (1/11) and Darnell Mooney (1/11). Missed targets: Marquise Goodwin and Jimmy Graham. ● Jan. 1, 2023 (41-10 Loss vs. Lions) 7 completions in 21 attempts,1 for 75 yards; 1 TD; 1 INT; sacked seven times. Passes… Read more »
Yes, he made strides as a passer! Any QB in the Leauge would of been a 1 Read and run QB, Their life would depend on it b/c of inept OL! Give him time, after all Nagy wasted his 1st year of Development!!!
Strides as a passer? Curious. The Bears had to scrap their playbook to accommodate Fields inability to grasp and play within their scheme. This was evident during the first couple games. Fields is a gimmick player. A 1 read and run QB. If this is what you’re looking for good for you. I’m not looking for a player they’ll end up replacing in 2 years due to injury. These players always start declining performance wise very fast. ALL of them. So yes. Dump him. Get what you can and draft a real NFL scheme QB and let someone else have… Read more »