Over the past several weeks Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has taken a big step in his development. With the addition of a new weapon that could continue this week against the Miami Dolphins.
It has been a busy seven days for the Chicago Bears. They traded their two defensive leaders, Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith, and, while they already had the most salary cap space in 2023, added even more. Additionally, they picked up three valuable draft picks.
General manager Ryan Poles then turned around and, with two second-round picks, he decided to use one of them to add help to quarterback Justin Fields. He acquired wide receiver Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers for their own second-round pick. He kept the one he acquired for Smith.
Helping Fields’ development is the most important priority for the Chicago Bears. Again, they enter the 2023 offseason with the highest salary cap space in the NFL and eight draft picks. If Poles and company feel that Fields is the franchise quarterback, going into the offseason with all those assets makes the rebuild a lot easier. They don’t have to worry about looking for a quarterback, which could be expensive and/or take time to get one.
By using a draft pick to help FIelds, Poles is signaling that he and the coaching staff are all-in on Fields. He is the man and now the team will build around him.
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The Bears acquire a receiver they can trust
The acquisition of Claypool should definitely help Fields. In just 39 career games, he already has more touchdown catches than any of the current receivers on the Chicago Bears roster.
We saw the difficulty Fields and the Bears’ offense has with scoring points and moving the ball. We saw receivers drop two passes in the end zone when Chicago started a comeback and had momentum. The Bears had to settle for a field goal and lost some of their momentum.
Having a dependable receiver the quarterback knows will make the catch when targeted is important for trust. We’ve seen times that Fields failed to make a throw to a receiver despite looking like he was open. If Fields doesn’t feel the receiver will make the catch he will look elsewhere. That means more time in the pocket and that means more sacks. The Chicago Bears’ offensive line has allowed 31 sacks, the most in the league.
Now Fields has a new target, a receiver he can trust. He can feel more comfortable throwing to a receiver he feels will make a play. A receiver other than Darnell Mooney.
Fields’ latest success could continue against the Dolphins
In spite of the limited snaps Claypool should see this week, Fields could still have some success this week. The Miami Dolphins come to town ranked 26th in passing yards allowed, 20th in passing touchdowns allowed and 23rd in interceptions. These numbers could help Fields and the Chicago Bears offense to continue their recent success.
Of course, success is relative. While the offense has taken big strides since the start of the season, it hasn’t translated into victories. They are 1-4 in their last five games. However, wins and losses aren’t the priority for the Chicago Bears this season. The development of their young players, especially Fields, is.
The Bears currently lead the NFL in rushing. The Dolphins are stingy in giving up rushing yards. They rank 6th in rushing yards allowed. They only rank 26th in rushing touchdowns allowed, though.
The Bears could get big chunk plays through the air and then use the ground game to score touchdowns once they get near the goal line.
Another positive is that Miami gives up 24 points per game this season, ranking 22nd. The Bears averaged 23 points in their last four games and 31 points in their last two games.
This is a game in which the Chicago Bears could mesh their passing and rushing attacks together and have a great complete game. The Dolphins are 5-3 so far this season. They are the only team to beat the Buffalo Bills. If the defense can cooperate, Chicago could pull off another big upset. At any rate, they will play hard and could see more success from the offense.