The Chicago Bears rookie quarterback finished his first season. While some fans will say that the year was so mismanaged that we cannot compare, Justin Fields is not the first quarterback drafted into a bad situation. In fact, most rookies struggle because of that.
The question is whether or not this year has Fields so far down that it may be hard to come back. When looking at yards per attempt, there has to be signs of optimism that things are going to come together.
Fields has yards per attempt of 6.93. Compared to rookie quarterbacks since 1990, Fields ranks 25th out of 88 players to throw 200 passes in their first year. When you look at the list below you can see that the 25 is a great company to be in.
Dak Prescott
Ben Roethlisberger
Marc Bulger
Deshaun Watson
Nick Mullens
Robert Griffin III
Russell Wilson
Matt Ryan
Cam Newton
Baker Mayfield
Marcus Mariota
Jameis Winston
Jake Plummer
Matt McGloin
Mac Jones
Justin Herbert
Teddy Bridgewater
Charlie Batch
Colt McCoy
Austin Davis
Andrew Luck
Case Keenum
Gardner Minshew II
Joe Flacco
You can point to a few names that did not work out well, but other than Matt McGloin, all of these quarterbacks have had a long career, whether it be as a starter or backup.
Of course, you also see some potential Hall of Famers on this list, as well as some players who are ascending into the NFL.
Mac Jones is higher in yards per attempt, but Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are concerningly low in this area. Both are below 6.4, which is an area where most rookies turn into busts. You can see Derek Carr, Matthew Stafford, and Donovan McNabb as players who found a way to succeed despite poor yards per attempt in their rookie season.
However, 36 players have had that low of a rating since 1990, and those three are the only ones to write how about. Wilson and Lawrence will be hoping to break a bad trend going against them in this area. Fields is in a group where 10 out of 25 became trusted and long-term starters. Those are much better odds than three out of 36.