Chicago Bears trade up to retry at quarterback in 2021 mock draft
By Joseph Herff
After being hyped up for weeks now on Russell Wilson, Chicago Bears fans were mortified to see that the Bears had settled on Andy Dalton as their starter for the 2021 NFL season signing him to a one-year contract for $10 million. It’s safe to say that fans were not feeling the move at all.
On the flip side, this could mean the Bears are moving on from Nick Foles and want a better quarterback to support a rookie quarterback. Unfortunately for the Bears, Ryan Pace needs to trade up quite a bit in order to land the quarterback he desires. It’s possible, but it will cost a lot.
This mock draft had the Bears trading up with the Philadelphia Eagles. I traded away pick No. 20, a 2022 first, and a 2022 second for pick no. 6 and a 2022 third. Additionally, I traded back from 84th overall with the Cleveland Browns for 90th and 133rd overall. I used the mock draft simulator via NFL Mock Draft Database.
player. JustinFields. QB. Ohio State. 6. 812. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
Chicago Bears: Round 1, Pick No. 6 via PHI
After Trevor Lawrence, the quarterback class has been murky in terms of who can fall where. There is speculation though that Justin Fields is expected to be the fourth quarterback to come off the board after Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance.
Fields was virtually unstoppable for the Buckeyes this season completing over 70% of his passes for 2,100 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only six interceptions in eight games. His best game came against Clemson in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in which he dismantled Clemson completing 22 of 28 attempts (78.5%) for 356 yards and six touchdowns to one interception.
Fields has all the traits to be an elite quarterback. Big, strong arm paired with incredible athletic ability. He may have the highest ceiling of any quarterback in this class based on his physical traits. He does struggle though with processing the entire field and needs work with that. He needs to get a coach who can work with him.
It may be best to start Fields on the bench for the 2021 season until he is ready to take over. It’s hard to gauge when that could be, but having Andy Dalton here is the reason for that. Fields could develop into a great quarterback though and seems to be a great fit for the system that Matt Nagy runs.