Does Justin Fields actually have a high ceiling?

By: Jake Rajala

The Chicago Bears second-year quarterback Justin Fields is one of the very most mysterious players in 2022. Fields is coming off a porous 2021 season, where he threw more interceptions (10 ints) than touchdowns (7). Most importantly, he had a miserable 2-8 record in his rookie campaign. He was still able to make splash plays and show glimpses of his magical dual-threat ability (as shown below).

It should be noted that Fields was located on Matt Snake Nagy Island last season. It’s also fair to say that many great signal-callers and talented young faces in the league have had rough rookie or sophomore seasons. Profiles such as Peyton Manning (3-13 record in 1998) and Drew Brees (2-9 record in 2003) were deemed busts early in their career. The dual-threat Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts nicely progressed in his sophomore season. Hurts was 1-3 as a rookie starter with 6 passing touchdowns to 4 interceptions. In the Eagles QB1’s second NFL season, he led his team to the playoffs via his arm talent (3,144 passing yds) and rushing ability (784 rushing yds).

With that enunciated, Fields will be highly motivated and gifted with new weapons at his disposal. He may not have A-Rob (412 yards in 12 games last season), but he will grow with Byron Pringle and Velus Jones Jr (outside of the third-year WR Darnell Mooney). In particular, Jones Jr. should be a rockstar target for Fields. Per NBC Sports Chicago, Jones Jr. is “locked-in” with his beloved QB. His 4.31 speed should be a valuable asset from the WR3 or WR2 spot.

I expect Fields and his shiny head coach Matt Eberflus to be able to unveil modest success on offense next season. The Khalil-Mack-less bears may not have a sexy roster, but they will have a strong game plan for their talented QB. I really can see Fields being able to run for 700+ yards and throw around 25 passing touchdowns in 2022. I expect Fields to have growing pains in 2022, but they should lean on him through the ups and downs in the Nick Foles-less QB room. CHI may struggle to have a winning record in the NFC North, but I expect honest and legitimate growth from Fields in his pivotal second NFL season.