The 2022 season was a coming out party for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. He showed some flashes of brilliance, which led to the franchise trading up and selecting him No. 12 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Justin Fields Fields was incredibly productive as a runner last season, nearly breaking the single-season rushing yardage record with 1,143 yards in 15 games. Had he been healthy enough to play in the 16th and 17th games, he would have almost assuredly broken the record of 1,206 yards that Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson set during his MVP season in 2019.
While Justin Fields was dynamic as a runner and showed improvements as a passer, there was still some developing left to do. He cut back on his interception percentage, but it was still a little bit high at 3.5 percent. His completion percentage also headed in the right direction to 60.4 percent, but there is still some room for improvement.
For Justin Fields to reach his ceiling, the Bears had to upgrade the supporting cast around him. That is exactly what general manager Ryan Poles did this offseason. D.J. Moore was acquired from the Carolina Panthers in the trade package for the No. 1 overall pick. Tight end Robert Tonyan was also signed in free agency.
Most importantly, the offensive line received some major upgrades. Guard Nate Davis was signed in free agency and Chicago used their first-round pick on offensive tackle Darnell Wright out of Tennessee. Both players will shore up the unit that led to Justin Fields getting sacked a league-high 55 times last season and 58 sacks overall.
The pieces are now in place for Justin Fields to take that next leap in his development. That is exactly what Alex Kay of Bleacher Report believes will happen when sharing his starting quarterback projections for the 2023 season.
“Projection: 61 percent completion rate, 3,253 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 135 carries, 898 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns.”
Last season, Chicago was last in passing attempts and passing yardage. If Justin Fields can prove capable of beating teams with his arms, they are going to be a difficult team to slow down offensively.
That kind of improvement in the passing game will help take the Bears from a one-dimensional team to an overall dynamic unit. Passing for that many yards would put Justin Fields in the top half of the league, which would be a huge step forward. 25 touchdowns would put him on the cusp of the top-10 in the NFL.
