QB Analyst Illustrates What Will Make Or Break Justin Fields This Year

The Chicago Bears made their intentions clear this offseason. Many experts encouraged them to pull the plug on the Justin Fields experiment while they had the #1 overall pick on hand. Their argument was that he hadn't shown enough progress as a passer through two years to justify pushing forward. GM Ryan Poles ignored them. He felt the 23-year-old had shown enough to earn more time. So the Bears focused their resources on upgrading the offense. D.J. Moore and Robert Tonyan added proven pass-catching skills. Darnell Wright and Nate Davis help fortify a leaky offensive line as well.

It will also be Fields' second year in the same offensive system since college. History proves time and again that familiarity with the scheme almost always leads to better production. It took three years, but the Bears finally seem to have a viable structure around their quarterback. Whether that will be enough to help him blossom is unclear.

One person that remains skeptical is Derrik Klassen. The former Bleacher Report and New York Times analyst is among social media's most respected QB evaluators. He did a full study of Fields' 2022 season. The positives were obvious. His athleticism is special. He can improvise with some of the best and is still an outstanding passer when allowed to attack deep. However, one flaw persists in his game.

Justin Fields' will live or die by his processing speed.

He's proven several times that he can read defenses just fine before the snap. The problems emerge during his drop. He has trouble unloading the ball on time, holding it a tick too long. By the time he throws, the ball is often behind his receiver. It constantly limits opportunities for yards after the catch. That is the timing and rhythm Klassen talked about. In other cases, this tendency led to him eating a sack or being forced to scramble. His athleticism helped to mitigate the damage from this issue, but it's not sustainable in the long term.

Many quarterbacks with this problem never quite learn to get over it. They can't develop the trust necessary to throw the ball where and when the play demands it. However, there are cases where some have. Steve Young is one such example. Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen are more recent ones. It can be done. The good news is Justin Fields has the work ethic necessary. He already has a reputation for being a film junky. No time is wasted when it comes to practice. Every available moment is spent tweaking his game. Teammates say his mastery of the offense is far more evident this year.

His connection with Moore is already showing too. If the offensive line can take a step forward, he may develop the confidence necessary to make those quicker reads and throws. He has 17 games to prove it. Otherwise, the Bears have some tough decisions ahead in 2024.