Chicago Bears: What Justin Fields brings to the Bears and the NFL
By Evan Bruner
Justin Fields has arm talent that the Chicago Bears have not seen before
Along with having elite athleticism for the position, Fields also has elite arm talent. Watching his college tape, Fields demonstrated the ability to make every throw in the book. He was able to deliver throws to all three areas of the field and made throws with and without touch.
Justin Fields was a pinpoint passer in college
Some players have great physical tools but lack the skill and precision to succeed in the NFL. Fields, on the other hand, is accurate is they get. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), he was the most accurate college quarterback the company had ever measured since they started keeping track of college quarterback accuracy back in 2014. Even if that isn’t that long of a time period, considering some of the quarterbacks that have been drafted in this stretch, it is still very impressive.
Fields’ accuracy was measured by an advanced stat called completion percentage over expected, known as CPOE. This takes into account the depth of the throw and the separation the receiver has from the defender and calculates how often a quarterback’s pass is completed relative to what is expected. Fields boasted a career CPOE of 0.12, meaning that his completion percentage was 12 points higher than what was expected from an average college quarterback. Fields’ accuracy combined with his arm strength should make him a more than capable passer at the next level.