The Chicago Bears like what they have in Justin Fields but have to realize that his rookie season was not inspiring. It is fair that plenty of rookies struggle and then go on to succeeding, but the odds of him becoming an elite quarterback have dropped based on his first-year play.
Justin Fields is a big playmaker and an aggressive passer who can work to his advantage at times. However, other times you will see a player that pays for his gambles.
One of the biggest concerns with the Chicago Bears rookie signal-caller is how many sacks he takes. Fans are going to scream and blame Matt Nagy and the offensive line, and while these have to be factored in, his sack rate is 11.8% which is unusually high.
Below you can see that only 47 quarterbacks have had that high of a sack rate in their rookie season. The list has some hits, but plenty of concerning misses.
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| Rk | Player | Year | Age | Draft ▲ | Tm | Lg | AV | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Pick6 | TD% | Int% | Rate | Sk | Yds | Sk% | Y/A | AY/A | ANY/A | Y/C | Y/G | W | L | T | 4QC | GWD | Yrs | PB | AP1 |
| 1 | Terry Bradshaw* | 1970 | 22 | 1-1 | PIT | NFL | 1 | 13 | 8 | 83 | 218 | 38.07 | 1410 | 6 | 24 | 1 | 2.8 | 11.01 | 30.4 | 25 | 242 | 10.3% | 6.47 | 2.06 | 0.86 | 16.99 | 108.5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | Steve Young* | 1985 | 24 | 1-1 | TAM | NFL | 4 | 5 | 5 | 72 | 138 | 52.17 | 935 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.2 | 5.80 | 56.9 | 21 | 158 | 13.2% | 6.78 | 4.60 | 3.00 | 12.99 | 187.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Tim Couch | 1999 | 22 | 1-1 | CLE | NFL | 8 | 15 | 14 | 223 | 399 | 55.89 | 2447 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 3.8 | 3.26 | 73.2 | 56 | 359 | 12.3% | 6.13 | 5.42 | 3.96 | 10.97 | 163.1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Michael Vick | 2001 | 21 | 1-1 | ATL | NFL | 4 | 8 | 2 | 50 | 113 | 44.25 | 785 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1.8 | 2.65 | 62.7 | 21 | 113 | 15.7% | 6.95 | 6.11 | 4.31 | 15.70 | 98.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5 | David Carr | 2002 | 23 | 1-1 | HOU | NFL | 5 | 16 | 16 | 233 | 444 | 52.48 | 2592 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3.38 | 62.8 | 76 | 411 | 14.6% | 5.84 | 4.72 | 3.24 | 11.12 | 162.0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Alex Smith | 2005 | 21 | 1-1 | SFO | NFL | -3 | 9 | 7 | 84 | 165 | 50.91 | 875 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0.6 | 6.67 | 40.8 | 29 | 185 | 14.9% | 5.30 | 2.42 | 1.11 | 10.42 | 97.2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Jared Goff | 2016 | 22 | 1-1 | LAR | NFL | -2 | 7 | 7 | 112 | 205 | 54.63 | 1089 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2.4 | 3.41 | 63.6 | 26 | 222 | 11.3% | 5.31 | 4.26 | 2.82 | 9.72 | 155.6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Archie Manning | 1971 | 22 | 1-2 | NOR | NFL | 7 | 12 | 10 | 86 | 177 | 48.59 | 1164 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 3.4 | 5.08 | 60.1 | 40 | 332 | 18.4% | 6.58 | 4.97 | 2.52 | 13.53 | 97.0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Bert Jones | 1973 | 22 | 1-2 | BAL | NFL | 3 | 8 | 5 | 43 | 108 | 39.81 | 539 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 3.7 | 11.11 | 28.8 | 14 | 126 | 11.5% | 4.99 | 0.73 | -0.39 | 12.53 | 67.4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Donovan McNabb | 1999 | 23 | 1-2 | PHI | NFL | 1 | 12 | 6 | 106 | 216 | 49.07 | 948 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3.7 | 3.24 | 60.1 | 28 | 204 | 11.5% | 4.39 | 3.67 | 2.41 | 8.94 | 79.0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Zach Wilson | 2021 | 22 | 1-2 | NYJ | NFL | 5 | 13 | 13 | 213 | 383 | 55.61 | 2334 | 9 | 11 | 2.3 | 2.87 | 69.7 | 44 | 370 | 10.3% | 6.09 | 5.27 | 3.86 | 10.96 | 179.5 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | Akili Smith | 1999 | 24 | 1-3 | CIN | NFL | 0 | 7 | 4 | 80 | 153 | 52.29 | 805 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1.3 | 3.92 | 55.6 | 19 | 110 | 11.0% | 5.26 | 3.76 | 2.70 | 10.06 | 115.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Blake Bortles | 2014 | 22 | 1-3 | JAX | NFL | 5 | 14 | 13 | 280 | 475 | 58.95 | 2908 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 2.3 | 3.58 | 69.5 | 55 | 345 | 10.4% | 6.12 | 4.97 | 3.81 | 10.39 | 207.7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Greg Cook | 1969 | 23 | 1-5 | CIN | AFL | 10 | 11 | 11 | 106 | 197 | 53.81 | 1854 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 7.6 | 5.58 | 88.3 | 29 | 195 | 12.8% | 9.41 | 8.42 | 6.48 | 17.49 | 168.5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Jim McMahon | 1982 | 23 | 1-5 | CHI | NFL | 8 | 8 | 7 | 120 | 210 | 57.14 | 1501 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 4.3 | 3.33 | 79.9 | 27 | 196 | 11.4% | 7.15 | 6.50 | 4.94 | 12.51 | 187.6 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Richard Todd | 1976 | 23 | 1-6 | NYJ | NFL | -1 | 13 | 6 | 65 | 162 | 40.12 | 870 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 1.9 | 7.41 | 33.2 | 29 | 233 | 15.2% | 5.37 | 2.41 | 0.82 | 13.38 | 66.9 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Phil Simms | 1979 | 24 | 1-7 | NYG | NFL | 6 | 12 | 11 | 134 | 265 | 50.57 | 1743 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 4.9 | 5.28 | 66.0 | 39 | 319 | 12.8% | 6.58 | 5.18 | 3.47 | 13.01 | 145.3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Marty Domres | 1969 | 22 | 1-9 | SDG | AFL | 3 | 10 | 4 | 47 | 112 | 41.96 | 631 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1.8 | 8.93 | 29.3 | 14 | 101 | 11.1% | 5.63 | 1.97 | 0.95 | 13.43 | 63.1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 19 | Josh Rosen | 2018 | 21 | 1-10 | ARI | NFL | 2 | 14 | 13 | 217 | 393 | 55.22 | 2278 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 2.8 | 3.56 | 66.7 | 45 | 320 | 10.3% | 5.80 | 4.75 | 3.53 | 10.50 | 162.7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Justin Fields | 2021 | 22 | 1-11 | CHI | NFL | 6 | 12 | 10 | 159 | 270 | 58.89 | 1870 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2.6 | 3.70 | 73.2 | 36 | 264 | 11.8% | 6.93 | 5.78 | 4.24 | 11.76 | 155.8 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 21 | John Reaves | 1972 | 22 | 1-14 | PHI | NFL | 5 | 11 | 7 | 108 | 224 | 48.21 | 1508 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 3.1 | 5.36 | 58.4 | 38 | 322 | 14.5% | 6.73 | 4.95 | 3.00 | 13.96 | 137.1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 22 | Dwayne Haskins | 2019 | 22 | 1-15 | WAS | NFL | 3 | 9 | 7 | 119 | 203 | 58.62 | 1365 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 3.4 | 3.45 | 76.1 | 29 | 204 | 12.5% | 6.72 | 5.86 | 4.25 | 11.47 | 151.7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Steve Fuller | 1979 | 22 | 1-23 | KAN | NFL | 4 | 16 | 12 | 146 | 270 | 54.07 | 1484 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 2.2 | 5.19 | 55.8 | 37 | 244 | 12.1% | 5.50 | 3.61 | 2.38 | 10.16 | 92.8 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Terry Hanratty | 1969 | 21 | 2-30 | PIT | NFL | 3 | 8 | 5 | 52 | 126 | 41.27 | 716 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 6.3 | 10.32 | 41.7 | 20 | 168 | 13.7% | 5.68 | 2.31 | 0.84 | 13.77 | 89.5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Dennis Shaw | 1970 | 23 | 2-30 | BUF | NFL | 8 | 14 | 12 | 178 | 321 | 55.45 | 2507 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 3.1 | 6.23 | 65.3 | 41 | 387 | 11.3% | 7.81 | 5.63 | 3.92 | 14.08 | 179.1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Gary Huff | 1973 | 22 | 2-33 | CHI | NFL | 2 | 8 | 2 | 54 | 126 | 42.86 | 525 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2.4 | 6.35 | 36.6 | 22 | 180 | 14.9% | 4.17 | 1.79 | 0.30 | 9.72 | 65.6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | Neil Lomax | 1981 | 22 | 2-33 | STL | NFL | 6 | 14 | 7 | 119 | 236 | 50.42 | 1575 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 1.7 | 4.24 | 59.9 | 32 | 286 | 11.9% | 6.67 | 5.11 | 3.43 | 13.24 | 112.5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Bobby Douglass | 1969 | 22 | 2-41 | CHI | NFL | 6 | 11 | 7 | 68 | 148 | 45.95 | 773 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 3.4 | 5.41 | 50.9 | 37 | 312 | 20.0% | 5.22 | 3.47 | 1.09 | 11.37 | 70.3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 29 | Tony Banks | 1996 | 23 | 2-42 | STL | NFL | 9 | 14 | 13 | 192 | 368 | 52.17 | 2544 | 15 | 15 | 1 | 4.1 | 4.08 | 71.0 | 48 | 306 | 11.5% | 6.91 | 5.89 | 4.48 | 13.25 | 181.7 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Jake Plummer | 1997 | 23 | 2-42 | ARI | NFL | 7 | 10 | 9 | 157 | 296 | 53.04 | 2203 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 5.1 | 5.07 | 73.1 | 52 | 291 | 14.9% | 7.44 | 6.18 | 4.42 | 14.03 | 220.3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Joe Ferguson | 1973 | 23 | 3-57 | BUF | NFL | 5 | 14 | 14 | 73 | 164 | 44.51 | 939 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 2.4 | 6.10 | 45.8 | 20 | 164 | 10.9% | 5.73 | 3.47 | 2.20 | 12.86 | 67.1 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Tom Hodson | 1990 | 23 | 3-59 | NWE | NFL | 2 | 7 | 6 | 85 | 156 | 54.49 | 968 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2.6 | 3.21 | 68.5 | 20 | 147 | 11.4% | 6.21 | 5.28 | 3.84 | 11.39 | 138.3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Charlie Batch | 1998 | 24 | 2-60 | DET | NFL | 9 | 12 | 12 | 173 | 303 | 57.10 | 2178 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3.6 | 1.98 | 83.5 | 37 | 222 | 10.9% | 7.19 | 7.02 | 5.61 | 12.59 | 181.5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Ken Anderson | 1971 | 22 | 3-67 | CIN | NFL | 4 | 11 | 4 | 72 | 131 | 54.96 | 777 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3.8 | 3.05 | 72.6 | 23 | 159 | 14.9% | 5.93 | 5.32 | 3.49 | 10.79 | 70.6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Charlie Frye | 2005 | 24 | 3-67 | CLE | NFL | 2 | 7 | 5 | 98 | 164 | 59.76 | 1002 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | 3.05 | 72.8 | 22 | 135 | 11.8% | 6.11 | 5.23 | 3.88 | 10.22 | 143.1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Andrew Walter | 2006 | 24 | 3-69 | OAK | NFL | 0 | 12 | 8 | 147 | 276 | 53.26 | 1677 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 1.1 | 4.71 | 55.8 | 46 | 256 | 14.3% | 6.08 | 4.17 | 2.78 | 11.41 | 139.8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Scott Zolak | 1992 | 25 | 4-84 | NWE | NFL | 2 | 6 | 4 | 52 | 100 | 52.00 | 561 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4.00 | 58.8 | 17 | 137 | 14.5% | 5.61 | 4.21 | 2.43 | 10.79 | 93.5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Rodney Peete | 1989 | 23 | 6-141 | DET | NFL | 6 | 8 | 8 | 103 | 195 | 52.82 | 1479 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 2.6 | 4.62 | 67.0 | 27 | 164 | 12.2% | 7.58 | 6.02 | 4.55 | 14.36 | 184.9 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Craig Krenzel | 2004 | 23 | 5-148 | CHI | NFL | 1 | 6 | 5 | 59 | 127 | 46.46 | 718 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2.4 | 4.72 | 52.5 | 23 | 158 | 15.3% | 5.65 | 4.00 | 2.33 | 12.17 | 119.7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Mike McMahon | 2001 | 22 | 5-149 | DET | NFL | 2 | 8 | 3 | 53 | 115 | 46.09 | 671 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.87 | 69.9 | 21 | 122 | 15.4% | 5.83 | 5.97 | 4.15 | 12.66 | 83.9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | T.J. Yates | 2011 | 24 | 5-152 | HOU | NFL | 3 | 6 | 5 | 82 | 134 | 61.19 | 949 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.2 | 2.24 | 80.7 | 15 | 74 | 10.1% | 7.08 | 6.52 | 5.37 | 11.57 | 158.2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Pat Haden | 1976 | 23 | 7-176 | RAM | NFL | 5 | 10 | 7 | 60 | 105 | 57.14 | 896 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 7.6 | 3.81 | 94.8 | 13 | 86 | 11.0% | 8.53 | 8.34 | 6.69 | 14.93 | 89.6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Tom Owen | 1974 | 22 | 13-322 | SFO | NFL | 5 | 10 | 7 | 88 | 184 | 47.83 | 1327 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 5.4 | 8.15 | 56.1 | 25 | 202 | 12.0% | 7.21 | 4.63 | 3.11 | 15.08 | 132.7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 44 | Brian Sipe | 1974 | 25 | 13-330 | CLE | NFL | 3 | 10 | 5 | 59 | 108 | 54.63 | 603 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.9 | 6.48 | 47.0 | 15 | 122 | 12.2% | 5.58 | 2.85 | 1.51 | 10.22 | 60.3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Joe Pisarcik | 1977 | 25 | NYG | NFL | 4 | 13 | 11 | 103 | 241 | 42.74 | 1346 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 1.7 | 5.81 | 42.3 | 32 | 262 | 11.7% | 5.59 | 3.30 | 1.96 | 13.07 | 103.5 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 46 | Dieter Brock | 1985 | 34 | RAM | NFL | 9 | 15 | 15 | 218 | 365 | 59.73 | 2658 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 4.4 | 3.56 | 82.0 | 51 | 351 | 12.3% | 7.28 | 6.56 | 4.91 | 12.19 | 177.2 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 47 | Chad Hutchinson | 2002 | 25 | DAL | NFL | 3 | 9 | 9 | 127 | 250 | 50.80 | 1555 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2.8 | 3.20 | 66.3 | 34 | 265 | 12.0% | 6.22 | 5.34 | 3.77 | 12.24 | 172.8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
For as much as fans want to pile on all of the other factors, PFF ranks him sixth in pressure to sack rate. This means that when pressure comes, he gets sacks more than most other quarterbacks.
To be fair to him, he is with rookie Zach Wilson in the top six. But Baker Mayfield and Ben Roethlisberger highlight the others.
Beyond that, plenty of these quarterbacks had issues during their first season that they could blame as well. You can see that most of these quarterbacks were first-round picks, and a good number went higher than Justin Fields.
Whether it was that they joined bad teams or never worked out well for themselves, a long list of players who got sacked as often as Fields did during his rookie season moved on to success.
Of course, Donovan Mcnabb, Steve Young, Terry Bradshaw, and even Michael Vick on the field turned out to be okay, but that is a small exception to plenty of players who continued their struggles.
While Justin Fields has plenty of upside getting over his inability to evade sacks is going to be a big hurdle.