Chicago Bears 20 Most Important Players: #1 Justin Fields

We reached the end of our series profiling the 20 most important Chicago Bears players. To no one’s surprise, at number one we have quarterback Justin Fields.

In less than a week, the Chicago Bears begin training camp. All the talk ends and we finally get to see how the team shapes up. While we waited we gave you a list of the 20 most important players who can make the 2023 season a success.

We are at the end of that list, number one. You can see the previous 19 players here. The most important player for the Bears in 2023 is, of course, Justin Fields.

When the Bears drafted Fields in 2021, they felt they finally found the franchise quarterback they lacked in their 100+ years in existence. Fields would be the one to help the Chicago Bears return to glory.

Two years later, the Bears have a new man in charge, Ryan Poles. He brought in a new coach, Matt Eberflus. With the change in management, would Fields still be the man?

Well, Poles answered that question this offseason. With Fields not having the success throwing the ball yet, there was speculation that the Bears could keep the number one pick and instead trade Fields.

The Bears would then pick up a quarterback. That would restart the rookie contract clock. With the enormous rebuild that Poles faced, having a new quarterback develop with the new faces could be something to think about.

Furthermore, Poles was not attached to Fields. He did not draft him so he could move on from him. He could then draft a quarterback he was more comfortable with. What started out as whispers grew louder soon after the 2022 season ended.

Poles goes all-in with Fields

Instead, Poles went all in on Fields. He also saw the talent that the young quarterback possessed. He decided to trade the top pick and build the offense around him.

Fields had a great season with his legs last year. He had 1,143 rushing yards, the second-most in a season by a quarterback. Yes, that was great, but a quarterback gets paid big bucks to throw the ball. Fields has not had the same success with his arm yet.

One of the reasons for that was the lack of talent on the offense. The offensive line was in shambles as was the wide receiver corps. The only receiver of note on the team was Darnell Mooney, but his season was cut short due to injury.

This offseason Poles made sure to add the talent Fields lacked. He received a bundle of draft picks for the top pick. In addition, he played hardball and insisted on having D.J. Moore, one of the top wide receivers in the NFL.

Having Moore involved in the offense gives Fields an incredible target. Moore settles the receiving corps. He is the clear number one and is a player Fields can feel comfortable making any throw.

Poles also overhauled the running game. David Montgomery departed for the Detroit Lions. To help fill the void, Poles signed free agents D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer. He also drafted Roschon Johnson. Johnson could be the future starting running back.

The offensive line was also strengthened. Poles signed right guard Nate Davis. That necessitated two moves — Teven Jenkins moved from right guard to left guard and left guard Cody Whitehair moved to center.

Poles also spent his first-round pick on right tackle Darnell Wright. Wright is a big, athletic player who has the strength to handle bull rushes. He also has the quickness to keep speed rushers in front of him.

In addition to Moore, Poles drafted speedy receiver Tyler Scott. Having speed was a priority for Poles. The Bears now have a ton of speed on their receiving unit.

Now the important job falls on Fields. He is leading this new-look offense. He now has an offensive line that can properly block for him. Additionally, he has not only a solid wide receiver unit but also two solid tight ends in Cole Kmet and another free agent signee, Robert Tonyan.

There are a ton of options in the offense. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy had to cut out most of his offense because of the lack of talent. He had to resort to having Fields run 160 times. While he had a historic season running the ball, he took a lot of hits. The Bears want to keep him healthy so they want to be more picky with his runs in 2023.

While Fields’ overall numbers weren’t much to talk about, his season was a tale of two halves. As the 2022 season progressed, Fields became a better thrower.

In his first seven games of 2022, this was Fields’ line: 55.9 percent completion, 1,048 yards, 5 touchdowns, 6 interceptions. His quarterback rating was 74.6 and suffered 27 sacks.

In his last eight games, though, things were different. He completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 1,194 yards, and 12 touchdowns to 5 interceptions. He posted a 93.1 passer rating and suffered 28 sacks.
As you can see, Fields threw the ball much better in the second half than he did in the first half, despite being surrounded by Walmart employees.

Even with the lack of talent, Fields flashed some brilliance. He made some great passes deep downfield. He ranked in the top ten on deep-thrown balls.

It will be interesting to see how Fields performs with his new teammates. If he is able to finally show consistency in his throws this will be a fun season.

We could be seeing the beginning of a new era of winning Chicago Bears football. If he doesn’t, we’ll have another disappointing season. The options rest on Fields.