Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is heading into Year 3 of his NFL career, which is the most important to date. After showing some flashes of brilliance in 2022, the team committed to him longer-term after trading the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
On top of that, general manager Ryan Poles upgraded the supporting cast around him. Justin Fields has an improved offensive line blocking for him and a better complement of weapons surrounding him to aid in taking this offense to the next level.
Last season, almost all of the damage that Justin Fields and the offense did was on the ground. They led the NFL in rushing yardage but were on the opposite end of the spectrum when it came to throwing the ball, finishing last in the league in passing yards. Despite the low volume in the passing game, Justin Field was still the most sacked quarterback in the league last season.
That should change in 2023 with the upgrades that were made to the offensive line. That will provide him more time to throw the ball and he now has a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver in D.J. Moore.
Moore was part of the trade package that Chicago received from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the No. 1 pick. His presence will help elevate the performance of Justin Fields, who recently spoke about how fast the two were able to develop chemistry with each other.
“It did come on quickly,” Fields said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. “I didn’t really expect anything because it’s different for each guy, but I feel like with DJ, his body language is pretty easy to read. Early on we communicated on how we want each route ran and stuff like that. Of course, he has a lot of experience. He’s been in the league for a good period of time now. He’s played a lot of football, so he knows different coverages really well. That’s one thing that I was kind of impressed about with the offense coming in and just understanding, seeing coverages really well on short routes and stuff like that. He’s been great. And you know, the chemistry has really picked up.”
The two have worked together tirelessly throughout the Bears’ offseason program. Having them on the same page and clicking is key to Chicago’s offense becoming a more well-rounded, dynamic unit as Moore will undoubtedly be the No. 1 option for Justin Fields in the passing game.
His presence has also helped offset the absences of Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool. Both players are recovering from injuries and the team hasn’t been thrilled with Claypool this offseason and how he has carried himself. After trading what turned out to be the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft for him, the Bears are expecting a lot more.
Despite some shortcomings thus far, Justin Fields is likely happy to have him in the fold. He now has a legitimate top-three to rely on at the wide receiver position in addition to two good tight ends in Cole Kmet and free agent signing Robert Tonyan.
