Chicago Bears: Ryan Pace gets aggressive to select Justin Fields

Things fell in place for the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft and their quarterback target fell close enough for them to trade up. They did so and selected former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

The Chicago Bears had a pretty tough offseason. They attempted to trade for one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, Russell Wilson. The Seattle Seahawks rejected their monster offer and ended up signing Andy Dalton.

The Dalton signing was not met well with the fans. After thinking they’d be seeing Wilson in a Chicago Bears uniform, settling for Dalton left a bad taste in their mouths. It was like shopping for a Porsche and ending up with a Yugo.

Additionally, the Bears had to cut cornerback Kyle Fuller to free up some salary-cap space. Things were getting ugly for Ryan Pace.

Going into the 2021 NFL Draft, many experts expected the Bears to draft a quarterback. Would Pace make a big trade and leverage future draft picks to move up to get their quarterback, though?

Well, things fell in place for them and they didn’t have to give up a lot to move up. They traded with the New York Giants to acquire the 11th overall pick. They gave up their 20th pick, their fifth-round pick (164th overall), and their first and fourth-round pick in 2022.

With their new pick, the Bears selected Justin Fields out of Ohio State.

Fields, 6-foot-3 and weighing 228 pounds is a dual-threat quarterback. He is similar to Dak Prescott except he’s a better pocket passer. In the past two seasons, he threw for 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns. He added 867 yards and 15 touchdowns rushing. He completed nearly 69 percent of his passes and averaged about 4 yards per rush.

Fields fits into head coach Matt Nagy’s offensive system. He was unable to turn things around for previous starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky suffered from bad mechanics and he panicked when things broke down. Fields, on the other hand, has good mechanics when stepping into the throw. He throws with good zip and the ball doesn’t sail on him.

While many fans want Fields to take over as quickly as possible, Fields could use some time on the bench to polish his game. He had a tendency to spin into a sack. He can redshirt this season and be ready to step up in 2022.

Of course, as soon as Dalton struggles in a game the fans will clamor for Fields. Dalton has the ability to do just good enough to let Fields develop at his pace. He can also mentor Fields. This is the game plan that worked well for Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs and the plan the Bears originally had for Trubisky. Hopefully, Dalton does his job and Pace and company stick to the plan.

Fields owned a 20-2 record as a starter. Also, he finished undefeated in Big Ten competition. He was a great leader in the locker room and that will help him in Chicago. He gets the best out of his teammates. That bodes well for the Bears’ receivers.

We’ll get to see how good the weapons the Bears have really are. Allen Robinson hasn’t had a quarterback as good as Fields at any point of his career, both college and professional. The Bears also have speedsters Darnell Mooney and Marquise Goodwin to go along with tight ends Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet. Additionally, David Montgomery is an improved receiver and Tarik Cohen is a good gadget back. They now will have a quarterback who can make any kind of throw. Let’s see how that turns out for them.

This pick brought excitement for Chicago Bears Nation. Could he be the franchise quarterback the team has wanted for decades? We shall see pretty soon.