Hoge: NFL remains positive on Fields despite bumpy 2021 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LOS ANGELES — Separate from the actual game, the Super Bowl tends to be a great place to gather and sort through opinions on all sorts of NFL topics.
Not surprisingly, after one of the most hyped up rookie quarterback classes delivered very mixed results in 2021, there were plenty of opinions thrown around in Los Angeles about Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
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Interestingly, nearly all of those opinions were positive.
This seemed notable because that was definitely not the case in Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII, following Mitchell Trubisky’s rookie season. There were certainly people offering reasons for hope in early 2018, but there was also an overwhelming sense of hesitation when it came to the former Bears quarterback.
In Fields’ case, two prevailing thoughts kept coming up last week: 1) Justin Fields is very, very talented, and 2) The Bears did not put him in a position to have success as a rookie in 2021.
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With that in mind, here is a large sampling of thoughts on Fields, some of which have been edited lightly for clarity:
Kevin Clark, The Ringer: A GM was telling me there are people who think Justin Fields can develop into a superstar and then there's people who think he is has a lower ceiling than that. But, this person said, there's no one who looks at Justin Fields and says there's nothing to work with. It's not that situation. There have been those situations. I think if the Bears had changed GMs a couple of years ago and looked at Mitch (Trubisky), that would have been: “OK, there's nothing to work with here.” Justin Fields has the talent and showed things on film to where anybody who takes a job with the Bears now says, “OK, we know what this looks like. We know where that's going to go.” So it was a more desirable job to most people because of that.
I think that Justin Fields is a remarkable talent. I think that he is the kind of guy where you should start collecting talent around him now. Don't wait for him to show superstar traits to spend like he’s a superstar. What they need to do is assume Justin Fields is going to take the leap and start hitting free agency, spend, invest draft draft capital extremely wisely … This is the offseason and you need to assemble a team in order to get ready for that leap because it's going to happen in some way. Even if he doesn't become Joe Burrow in a year or two, he’s going to get better. And your job is to help him if you work for the team right now.
Jay Glazer, FOX Sports: Opinions are mixed. They’re just mixed on him. Look, some guys, the light bulb comes on a little later, sometimes it doesn’t. But when Fields was coming out too, some guys loved him, some guys didn’t love him. Listen, if you look at the way guys scout quarterbacks in this league, they miss all the time. And they nail guys like Dak Prescott later on or Tom Brady in the sixth round. It’s such an inexact science. It’s so subjective.
Jimbo Covert, former Chicago Bears and Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle: I thought he did pretty well. I like Justin Fields a lot. I think if they get him in a scheme where he can be competitive, you know, get him out of pocket a little bit more, protect him a little bit better, when he's in the pocket. He's got a few weapons. I think he's going to have a great career.
Geoff Schwartz, Sirius XM and former NFL offensive lineman: He just needs a chance. I think that offense was disjointed with what they did … But I think by the end of next season, middle of the year, you’ll kind of know if he makes those special plays. I liked him out of college. I think he can clear up a little bit of the long delivery. And you know, I think that Ohio State is still in him when wants to take that deep shot as much as possible. Just take what’s underneath, right? And this offense, especially if it's kind of that LaFleur-McVay-Shanahan offense, he'll have plenty of easy options.
Mike Golic, Westwood One: Justin Fields can move, but you can't just move. You have to be a good passer as well. And he has shown signs of that … But absolutely, I think he can be developed with the right system. Get him on the move. The naked boots are big, the crossing routes are big, quick passes are big. Get the ball out of his hand or if he scrambles around, make a big play. I mean, he fits a quarterback (like) Josh Allen where a quarterback can be dangerous with his legs — whether he's running the ball or just escaping the pocket to make a play. So I definitely think there's a high ceiling for Justin.
Shaun Alexander, Former NFL MVP running back with the Seattle Seahawks: Swag and moxie — that’s an interesting thing because, one, you gotta have it, so it’s in you already. But then two, you got to be put in a situation where it’s not taken as arrogant or shutdown … A person like that, if he throws a couple good balls, everybody starts believing. That’s what Joe (Burrow) has done and I think Justin can do that. He has to have the offensive weapons around him to go make it happen and be protected. But he does have that little bit of “it.” So now you've got to be like, OK, well, I need you to turn it up a little bit more. And if he gets the right coaches and the right players around him it's going to be good.
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears running back: I just think that's the way he carries himself. Kind of like a natural born leader being a quarterback, but he has a swagger to him that I think a lot of the guys respect and love about him. So just just seeing that, you know, he's willing to put his body on the line for the team and go out there and take those big hits to make a big throw or make a big run. And guys respect that and you know, guys love it.
Phil Perry, NBC Sports Boston: I would have taken Justin Fields (if I were the Patriots). I really liked Justin Fields ahead of the draft. I think he can be what leads to elite quarterback play in the NFL -- just the traits that he has, and the accuracy that he has shown down the field, combined with the athleticism and the size and the arm strength. I mean, he has the entire package. So whether or not he's able to put it together in the near future, I guess we'll still have to wait and see. But if it were me, I would start with that ball of clay and try to follow that Josh Allen model and build around him and allow him to flourish as best as he can.
Dick Butkus, Former Chicago Bears and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker: I heard an insider story, this from another team, a friend of mine, said: “Justin Fields, I think, is the answer for the Bears at quarterback. The only problem, they didn't coach him from the day he stepped on the field at training camp to the last game. They never coached him, never coached him up.” And I think that's a tragedy. So I'm glad they got some new people in there and maybe they'll start working and teach the kid something and take advantage of his abilities, along with getting somebody up front so he doesn't get killed.
