Chicago Bears Fantasy Football: Justin Fields preview and outlook
By Nick Skrip
The Chicago Bears have a dual-threat QB, how do they do in fantasy football?
The dual-threat QB is the evolution of fantasy football. Fantasy Point’s Scott Barrett outlined the advantages of a rushing quarterback, coined the “Konami Code”, and how rushing quarterbacks are basically a cheat code in fantasy football in an article titled Konami Code Revisted: Mobile QB Revolution.
Why are rushing quarterbacks an advantage? It comes down to scoring, which is what fantasy football is all about. Rushing yards = 0.1 points, passing yards = .04, rushing TDs = 6 points and passing TDs = 4 points in most fantasy football scoring formats. The combination of both sets of these potential points raises the ceiling for QBs.
Out of the QBs who rushed for at least 400 yards in 2020, here is how their fantasy finishes for the QB position went (in order of rushing yards):
- Lamar Jackson – QB10
- Kyler Murray – QB2
- Cam Newton – QB16
- Russell Wilson – QB6
- Taysom Hill – QB29 (used as a multi-position player)
- Deshaun Watson – QB5
- Daniel Jones – QB24
- Josh Allen – QB1
Seeing as the overall fantasy quarterbacks ranked No. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 10 gained yardage through both the air and their legs should really paint the picture for how valuable QBs who also rush can be for fantasy. Digging back as far as 2012-2020, nobody has scored more QB fantasy points than Lamar Jackson in 2019 who totaled 421.68 fantasy points due to the combination of 36 passing TDs, 3,127 passing yards, 1,206 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs.
This is all relevant to Justin Fields who has a skill-set that combines throwing accuracy, a big arm downfield and elite playmaking with his legs. Referencing quarterbacks who rushed for 400, the ESPN fantasy app projects Fields to hit that mark as well as have the passing compliment to that as well which should bring some optimism as he fits the mold from above.