Bears Mock Draft: Starting over with a Justin Fields trade
By Hunter Haas
The Chicago Bears snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Monday Night Football against NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. After what is best described as a struggle, the 12-10 win propelled the Bears to a 4-8 record while sending the Vikings spiraling back to .500.
While quarterback Justin Fields did just enough to leave Minnesota victorious, it was far from a sparkling performance for the third-year signal-caller. Sure, he completed 73 percent of his passes on the night, but only a handful of those throws traveled more than a few air yards.
The game plan was essentially a bike with training wheels, guiding Fields and the offense with risk-averse play calls. Even then, the Bears suffered from turnovers, including two costly fumbles from Fields himself. But to his credit, the former Ohio State star led his team down the field with a little over two minutes remaining for the game-winning field goal.
It wasn’t all bad, but the performance did little to shake the doubt Fields dissenters have toward his chances at retaining the QB1 role in Chicago. As of today, the Bears could reasonably take either path. Stick with Fields for one more season while stacking up the roster, or trade Fields and start over with a different quarterback (and likely head coach).
Bears Mock Draft: Replacing Justin Fields with a higher-upside QB
For this mock draft, we will entertain the latter thought. It’s nearly impossible to gauge the trade value of Justin Fields, but let’s play it safe and call the asking price a Day 2 pick. Which teams make sense for the once-first-round selection? The Atlanta Falcons jump out the most. The franchise was linked to Fields during his draft, so the connection has merit.
As for the Bears, this would help replenish the pick they used to acquire Montez Sweat midseason. It also restarts the clock with a rookie contract quarterback, giving the front office, whomever that may be in 2024, a longer leash to reshape this roster. Chicago is basically choosing four cheap seasons of a rookie signal-caller over one more cheap season of Fields (plus his pricy fifth-year option).
Without further ado, the Bears currently sit at No. 1 and No. 4 overall in the first round. Thanks to the Fields trade, the team also has a second-rounder again at No. 51 overall. An extra fourth-round selection from the Eagles is another feather in the cap for Chicago at the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, let’s get the mock draft underway.