What are people doing with Justin Fields, buying or selling?

[Jigga94]

Are we betting on the under or over for Fields being #8 fantasy QB in 2023 ???

Or since formats vary do we expect a significant jump / decline from last year avgs per gm ? Forget Mariota or Bortles ... Fields is more like Kordell relying on long runs early in his career to boost his stats. Kind of snuck up as he wasn't really known as being THAT FAST & elusive. Will the offseason bring an adjustment from D Co-ordinators to limit those and force him to win from the pocket more

What? You didn't think Fields was that fast? He's one of the most athletic QBs to come into the league in recent years.

[wickerkat1212]

Are we betting on the under or over for Fields being #8 fantasy QB in 2023 ???

Or since formats vary do we expect a significant jump / decline from last year avgs per gm ? Forget Mariota or Bortles ... Fields is more like Kordell relying on long runs early in his career to boost his stats. Kind of snuck up as he wasn't really known as being THAT FAST & elusive. Will the offseason bring an adjustment from D Co-ordinators to limit those and force him to win from the pocket more

I'd take the over, whatever that means. I think he'll have less rushing yards and rushing tds, but I expect every other passing category will go up—yards, completions, attempts, tds. Hopefully not ints.

[cazzie33]

Being a good athlete doesn't mean you can Hit 21 mph on a football field in uniform. No , he wasn't considered to be THAT fast. That he hit as many looong runs as he did isn't a year to year likelihood. Probably will be his career year for long runs over 50 yds. He was 2nd to Tyreek Hill in hitting 20 mph on runs. NOBODY was talking about him challenging for fastest man in the NFL. But NOW they are acutely aware of what He can do if you let him get into space. I'd expect defenses to adjust. So I expect a regression and maybe a significant one in his rushing totals.
That being said he could easily lose 350-400 yds in rushing and make it up in passing since he only threw for not much over 2000 yds.

[MacDaddy123]

I'm nether buying nor selling, more like avoiding.

[Jigga94]

I'm nether buying nor selling, more like avoiding.

Actively inquiring and expecting the price to be astronomical

[Bronco Billy]

I'm nether buying nor selling, more like avoiding.

+1

Hard to get on board with a QB when his own coaches don’t trust him to throw the ball.

[wickerkat1212]

I'm nether buying nor selling, more like avoiding.

+1

Hard to get on board with a QB when his own coaches don’t trust him to throw the ball.

That's not accurate at all. Bad OL and bad WR made it impossible year one, improved last year, should be a big improvement THIS year.

[Bronco Billy]

I'm nether buying nor selling, more like avoiding.

+1

Hard to get on board with a QB when his own coaches don’t trust him to throw the ball.

That's not accurate at all. Bad OL and bad WR made it impossible year one, improved last year, should be a big improvement THIS year.

A poor carpenter blames his tools.

[Jigga94]

+1

Hard to get on board with a QB when his own coaches don’t trust him to throw the ball.

That's not accurate at all. Bad OL and bad WR made it impossible year one, improved last year, should be a big improvement THIS year.

A poor carpenter blames his tools.

Then a good manager goes out and gets him new tools to see if it's really the carpenter or the tools fault

[wickerkat1212]

That's not accurate at all. Bad OL and bad WR made it impossible year one, improved last year, should be a big improvement THIS year.

A poor carpenter blames his tools.

Then a good manager goes out and gets him new tools to see if it's really the carpenter or the tools fault

Exactly. This is going to be a big year—we'll know soon enough if it's Fields or the surrounding cast that has sucked in the past. I've watched every game he's played. He has been all over the place. Some of the mistakes are definitely on him (holding too long, missing short passes, not going through reads fast enough, too many sacks) but other things were not his fault (drops, bad schemes, bad OL, bad WRs, bad DEF). So, this is going to be an important 17 games. I personally think if we can get to about .500 then he's been successful. And I'm really excited about DJM and the OL improvements. AND even Roschon with the running game. This is going to be a MUCH better team. They are going to win more games for sure.

[FantasyFreak]

It's a make or break year for Fields. Same as it was for Hurts last year. The team has pushed some capital out a year, has multiple firsts. If Fields looked the same as he did last year, he's in real trouble. He needs to improve a lot as a passer. The Bears brass was smart, in the sense that they have provided a situation where that improvement can be facilitated. If it doesn't happen, Fields won't be a starter for long. If it does, he's safer. If he has a Hurts like ascension, he's likely to get an 2nd contract to be a starter, though that isn't likely, as there really isn't as much working there as they had going in Philly.

It makes sense for the Bears to see. There really wasn't an elite QB prospect in this class, so they pushed a first into the next year, where there is one, maybe 2. This is the year. If Fields doesn't improve, the Bears likely have a top 10 pick of their own, plus whatever the Panthers one yields, and they can likely get a QB to replace him.

From a Dynasty perspective, I can't justify taking Fields in the first, knowing this likely scenario. I'd much rather move up into the top 6 and land a more stable QB with my first round startup pick.

[Cameron Giles]

Multiple things can be true at the same time:

1. Fields needs to improve as a passer.
2. Fields was in no position to improve as a passer last season with one of the least talented offenses in the league and no players who consistently win matchups.

I don't think anyone outside of Mahomes could get a good season out of that offense.

[Bronco Billy]

Multiple things can be true at the same time:

1. Fields needs to improve as a passer.
2. Fields was in no position to improve as a passer last season with one of the least talented offenses in the league and no players who consistently win matchups.

I don't think anyone outside of Mahomes could get a good season out of that offense.

We’ve seen elite QBs turn chicken**** into chicken salad before. That’s not a fair comparison for Fields though since he has a way to go before he even qualifies to be labeled a mediocre passer. People want to put the blame everywhere but with Fields, but he looked like a big part of the problem. The knock on him coming out was his slow processing, which is the kiss of death for a pro QB. That showed in his play with how long it took him to get the ball out and where he threw the ball when he finally did throw. His coaches appeared to simply not trust him throwing the ball much.

I agree wholly with FF - this is his make-or-break year. If he does not improve significantly as a passer CHI will be replacing him in the 2024 draft. His passing game may have a fatal flaw that he just can’t overcome.

[Cameron Giles]

Multiple things can be true at the same time:

1. Fields needs to improve as a passer.
2. Fields was in no position to improve as a passer last season with one of the least talented offenses in the league and no players who consistently win matchups.

I don't think anyone outside of Mahomes could get a good season out of that offense.

We’ve seen elite QBs turn chicken**** into chicken salad before. That’s not a fair comparison for Fields though since he has a way to go before he even qualifies to be labeled a mediocre passer. People want to put the blame everywhere but with Fields, but he looked like a big part of the problem. The knock on him coming out was his slow processing, which is the kiss of death for a pro QB. That showed in his play with how long it took him to get the ball out and where he threw the ball when he finally did throw. His coaches appeared to simply not trust him throwing the ball much.

I agree wholly with FF - this is his make-or-break year. If he does not improve significantly as a passer CHI will be replacing him in the 2024 draft. His passing game may have a fatal flaw that he just can’t overcome.

I agree. He really needs to develop his anticipation, reads, and accuracy. But at the same time, I'm not sure how you do that with:

- Darnell Mooney
- Equinameous St. Brown
- Dante Pettis
- Byron Pringle
- Cole Kmet

These are a lot of players who wouldn't even be in a typical WR/pass catcher rotation. It's no wonder the team just told him to start running. Would you trust him throwing to those players? Nobody above can win a matchup reliably.

[oneson9192]

Multiple things can be true at the same time:

1. Fields needs to improve as a passer.
2. Fields was in no position to improve as a passer last season with one of the least talented offenses in the league and no players who consistently win matchups.

I don't think anyone outside of Mahomes could get a good season out of that offense.

We’ve seen elite QBs turn chicken**** into chicken salad before. That’s not a fair comparison for Fields though since he has a way to go before he even qualifies to be labeled a mediocre passer. People want to put the blame everywhere but with Fields, but he looked like a big part of the problem. The knock on him coming out was his slow processing, which is the kiss of death for a pro QB. That showed in his play with how long it took him to get the ball out and where he threw the ball when he finally did throw. His coaches appeared to simply not trust him throwing the ball much.

I agree wholly with FF - this is his make-or-break year. If he does not improve significantly as a passer CHI will be replacing him in the 2024 draft. His passing game may have a fatal flaw that he just can’t overcome.

I agree. He really needs to develop his anticipation, reads, and accuracy. But at the same time, I'm not sure how you do that with:

- Darnell Mooney
- Equinameous St. Brown
- Dante Pettis
- Byron Pringle
- Cole Kmet

These are a lot of players who wouldn't even be in a typical WR/pass catcher rotation. It's no wonder the team just told him to start running. Would you trust him throwing to those players? Nobody above can win a matchup reliably.

^This WR room needs to be burned into everyone's memory when talking about Fields' 2022 passing stats. Also consider that this room struggled heavily with injuries all year, making it even worse. If you factor in availability (calculated as WR snap count/Fields' total snap count), his WR room actually looks more like:

2/3rds of Darnell Mooney
1/5th of Chase Claypool
3/5ths of Equinameous St. Brown
Fill in the gaps created above with a trio of guys who will likely never sniff an NFL roster again in Pettis, Pringle, and Harry.

Add in a patchwork offensive line (3/5 starters have already been replaced) and the worst defense in football...