Chicago Bears Draft: No need to rush Justin Fields in 2021
The Chicago Bears made a very bold move in trading up from pick 20th to number 11th to select arguably the second-best quarterback in this draft in Ohio State’s Justin Fields.
The Bears came into this draft with several needs, but none stronger than the QB position. They knew that they could not sell this fan base on Andy Dalton as QB1 with Nick Foles backing him up. The selection of Fields could possibly give hope for 2021, but more importantly, give hope for the future.
There is a possibility that Fields start sometime in 2021. However, the Bears would be wise to play this one carefully this time around by letting Fields sit and learn behind Dalton and possibly Foles (if he is still on the roster). The Bears, despite what some fans believe, have a playoff-ready roster. Is Dalton a QB that you can win because of? Of course not, but he is a QB with tons of starting experience throughout his career (That includes playoff games).
Dalton is a very capable starter, who Fields can learn from. Add in Foles, another veteran QB he can soak knowledge from. General Manager Ryan Pace was not lying when he made the comment that this would be a good QB room for a young QB to walk into.
This pick is not about 2021. Especially with the Green Bay Packers having an expiration date on their championship window. The Minnesota Vikings nor the Detroit Lions having a young QB in place to run the division.
The Packers for quite sometime have run the division mainly because of their success nailing the quarterback position. Brett Favre terrorized the NFC North 16 years with the Packers. Once the Bears thought they had relief with Favre being acquired by the Jets, Aaron Rodgers step in. Not only did the Packers not miss a beat, they got better at the position.
Fields have all the talent in the world to have that type of effect on a division. However, fans need to be patient and not put pressure on the team to not rush his development. If he is ready put him in, but if it is clear that he still needs to sit and learn behind Dalton, fans can not be mad at that.
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This move is more about the future. The Bears have an opportunity to run the division if they properly develop Fields and build around him. He has the star-level ability that fans have not seen in this town since Jay Cutler’s acquisition. If the Bears handle this one right it will certainly pay off in the long run.