Chicago Bears: Why drafting Justin Fields was the best pick in the first round

For once, the Chicago Bears seemed to make the right move in the draft and brought in a guy who has the potential to be the franchise quarterback for years to come. The Bears selected Justin Fields with the 11th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after trading up with the New York Giants. Obviously, only time will tell if Justin Fields will be the guy here, but he has all of the potential in the world.

The Chicago Bears now have a complete quarterback in Justin Fields

Although there are some knocks on his decision-making and progression through his reads, Justin Fields offers a multitude of weapons with his legs and his arm. We heard Ryan Pace rave about his 4.44 40-yard dash at his pro day as well as how he can be utilized as a runner with his athleticism and his big, physical frame.

That does not even cover his arm talent, which might be up there with Trevor Lawrence in terms of accuracy and power. Fields is as accurate as they come, as he completed over 70% of his passes in his 2020 season at Ohio State. His physical build and body type, combined with his ability to throw the ball and extend plays with his legs makes him a perfect modern-day quarterback that Bears fans should be excited about.

Fans might wonder if we gave up too much to trade up for him. I would say that we made a reasonable trade with the Giants. We did give up our first-round pick next year and swapped firsts in 2021, but only adding a fifth this year and a fourth next year is really not that bad considering many thought the Bears would have to trade up to four or five to get a quarterback.

Ryan Pace talked about how patience was key during the draft yesterday, and I applaud him for waiting enough to be able to make a valuable trade while also being aggressive enough to get the player they wanted. The value here of landing Justin Fields, our consensus QB2 in this draft class, makes this pick arguably the best in the draft. Obviously, we will need to wait a couple of years before we know for sure, but this was a great outcome.

Even though some Bears fans will still want to criticize Pace for how much he gave up, I think he deserves a win on this one. He struck at the right time and brought in a player that offers as much upside as many of the other quarterbacks that were already taken. If Justin Fields plays like most believe he can, we basically got a franchise quarterback for a first and two mid-round picks.

The Chicago Bears made a great pick by trading up for Justin Fields. Going into a quarterback room with Andy Dalton and Nick Foles will only help Fields as he begins to learn and adapt to the NFL game and speeds. I am ecstatic to see how he will develop within this offensive system and I believe he will be the future at the quarterback position for the Chicago Bears.