NDN: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields looks like the real deal

The hype going into last weekend was how the five first-round quarterbacks from the 2021 NFL Draft would perform in the first game of their NFL career. While all five quarterbacks look good one player stood out above the rest and that was Chicago’s Justin Fields. In this week’s 2022 NFL Draft Notebook we break down his game and what his role will likely be with the Chicago Bears this season.

Along with taking a look at Justin Fields performance this week’s article also take a look at the following

• DeMarvin Leal scouting report
• A rookie the Chicago Bears are worried about
• Scouting notes and rankings on the 2022 NFL Draft defensive tackle class
• One addition the New York Jets could make to help Zach Wilson next season
• And much more

Justin Fields Performance

Justin Fields might be the most anticipated rookie in Chicago Bears history as Bear’s fans think they might have finally found their answer at quarterback. In the first preseason game of his career Fields lived up to these high expectations as he made numerous plays and displayed the skills to develop into a franchise quarterback.

Overall on the day, Justin Fields completed 14 of 20 passes for 142 yards for one touchdown. He also was able to rush for 33 yards on 5 carries including one rush for a touchdown. While his stats were impressive the way he did it was even more impressive.

The first thing that stood out about Justin Fields’ performance was how comfortable he was in the pocket. He went through his reads on numerous occasions and was not afraid to throw the check-down route. Another positive with his pocket presence is how he kept his eyes downfield when starting to scramble and on different occasions found a receiver downfield due to this.

Fields displayed outstanding accuracy as well. He routinely hit his receivers in stride and was also able to thread the needle in tight coverage. In addition to being able to throw the ball accurately from the pocket, he displayed the ability to throw on the run. The Chicago Bears used him on rollout passes on several occasions which he should be extremely dangerous at as he is a threat to run with the ball or hit his receiver downfield on these plays.

Another area Justin Fields showed exciting potential at is as a runner. He had one scramble where he broke one tackle in the pocket, took off, and rushed eight yards before lowering his shoulder for his first NFL touchdown. He also displayed his speed on several other runs and easily could be the most athletic quarterback in Chicago Bears history.

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One area of concern that did pop up though was his lack of ball security. He tended to keep only one hand on the ball when scrambling or running with the ball. This resulted in one fumble on the day and if the issue is not fixed could be a big issue with him this season.

When it comes to what role we will see Justin Fields play with the Chicago Bears this season, he will likely still start the season off as the Bears’ backup. However, it is also likely Fields will get more reps with the first-team unit in practice and possibly even in preseason games.

It would not be a shock if Fields became the starter by the middle of the season especially if the team is not contending for a playoff spot.