A fun game many of us NFL fans like to play is: the what if game. What if certain players were drafted earlier, or later? When looking back at when Justin Fields was drafted in 2021, would the Bears have done it differently? If they knew what the future looked like, would they still draft him?
The top QBs drafted in 2021 were:
#1 Trevor Lawrence,
#2 Zach Wilson,
#3 Trey Lance,
#11 Justin Fields, and
#15 Mac Jones
Statistically, Jones has had a better career so far. Jones has thrown 36 touchdowns, 6,798 passing yards, led his team to a 16-15 record, and has earned himself a Pro Bowl spot. Fields has thrown 24 touchdowns, 4,112 passing yards, and a 5-20 record. On paper, Jones has been the more impressive player, but when it comes to the future of the teams, I believe the Bears did the right thing when drafting Fields.
Jones was set up to do well. He has the best coach of all time, as well as a solid offense. The system was set up for him, so success was expected. When looking at Fields, he was thrown into a team that was lost. Matt Nagy was still their coach and the team had no skilled offensive player to lead the way. When looking at the season ahead, Fields finally has some weapons on his team, which he will use wisely. Not to mention, Fields is also a quick QB who likes to run, something that not every QB can do.
