Insider Claims Some Teams May Already Regret Not Drafting Justin Fields

Here's the thing. Drafting quarterbacks is hard. Really hard. No team knows this better than the Chicago Bears. It is also dangerous. If you misfire on a quarterback, you run the risk of setting your entire franchise back at least five years. It happened in 1987, 1999, 2003, and 2017. This is why the Bears only have six playoff wins in just over three decades. That was also why it was refreshing to see the team still show the willingness to trade up for Justin Fields. It was one of the great shocks of the 2021 draft. Not just that the Bears moved up again for a quarterback, but that Fields was even available at 11th overall. For over a year, most draft experts were certain he would be the second quarterback taken after Clemson's Trevor Lawrence. Then somewhere between January and April, his stock began to cool. Rumors surfaced about a supposed lukewarm work ethic, questions about his ability to go through progressions, and other odd red flags.

This enabled Zach Wilson and Trey Lance to jump ahead of him.

After the first three picks were quarterbacks, Fields tumbled all the way out of the top 10 where the Bears were waiting to pounce. Months later, he's coming off a preseason debut where he wowed the audience going 14-of-20 for 142 yards passing, 33 rushing, a passing TD, and a rushing TD. What stood out the most was his surprising calm on the field. How he operated with poise and never seemed rattled. This might explain why Albert Breer of the MMQB is hearing whispers that some teams may already regret not pulling the trigger on Fields when they had the chance.

"In the aftermath of the weekend, a lot of team people I spoke to were talking about how their rivals may regret having passed on Justin Fields in April. It’s early, of course, but what got a couple of scouts I touched base with was how comfortable Fields looked running Matt Nagy’s offense. And I don’t think that surprises the Bears guys, based on what they’ve seen to this point."

There is no telling if Fields will ultimately be a star or not. Based on early impressions, he does have that look. It once again speaks to how crazy the draft can make teams. Despite putting so much time and effort into the process, when that clock is ticking it becomes so easy to second-guess your evaluations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP31RzrlEUU&ab_channel=ChicagoBears

Justin Fields has revenge on his mind

He made that clear not long after the Bears drafted him. While he was happy to land in Chicago, he aims to make every team that chose to pass on him in the draft pay. It may not be this year, but he'll get them eventually. Until that time, he is working tirelessly to get ready for success in the NFL. Even GM Ryan Pace joked the young quarterback somehow beats him to Halas Hall every morning. This is somebody who has big goals in mind. Justin Fields has said multiple times that he wants to be great. He wants to be one of the best to play this game. People haven't grasped how much he loves football. This is somebody who passed up a chance to get drafted by Major League Baseball out of high school because he wanted to pursue a football career. That should tell you how committed he is.

He is only getting better too.

Plenty of people are pressuring head coach Matt Nagy to play the rookie right away. Thus far the head coach has remained steadfast. He won't do that. Not until he is certain the young QB is ready. This isn't about 2021. This is about what is best for Fields and the Bears franchise. Everybody wants to make sure the QB becomes a star. It must be a good sign that other teams can already sense it.