Will the Chicago Bears reunite Justin Fields with these 4 Buckeyes?
By Dakota Wayne
Something that’s been a theme the last couple of drafts is to reunite your team’s quarterback with a receiver that said quarterback played with in college. Now, it’s time for the Chicago Bears to reunite Justin Fields with some of his former teammates.
Three examples of this recent trend are Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase; Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle; and Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith.
While the jury is somewhat out still on Tagovailoa and Hurts, a connection between a quarterback and his receiver is incredibly important. Reuniting players with their college teammates is something that has to be brought up in the draft process, and it’s something that should be heavily looked into, especially with the recent success shown when doing so.
Believe it or not, Justin Fields also had a few connections in college at Ohio State that could certainly make the Chicago Bears’ offense better than it was last year; not that that’s saying much at all.
The Chicago Bears should consider reuniting Justin Fields with former college teammates in the 2022 NFL Draft
The most talked-about example of this thought process working out is with the Cincinnati Bengals reuniting Joe Burrow with his former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase.
In their first season as teammates in the NFL, the two went on an absolute tear.
Given Burrow’s first season wasn’t ideal due to an ACL tear, a lot of draft analysts were guaranteeing that Penei Sewell would be the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-round selection in 2021.
That wasn’t the case, and it’d be shocking to see people say they should’ve gotten Sewell now, as what Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase were able to do together was nothing short of mesmerizing.
In the 2021-22 season, Burrow and Chase connected for 81 completions (128 targets), 1,455 yards, and 13 touchdowns.
It’s not even like Burrow only threw to Chase, either. Burrow threw for 4,611 yards total, so even with Ja’Marr’s 1,455 yards, Burrow still moved the ball plenty: 3,156 yards to be exact.
Cincinnati Bengals top receivers 2021 (excl. Ja’Marr Chase)
- Tee Higgins
74 receptions/110 targets, 1,091 yards, six touchdowns - Tyler Boyd
67 receptions/94 targets, 828 yards, five touchdowns - C.J. Uzomah
49 receptions/63 targets, 493 yards, five touchdowns
Outside of touchdowns, Ja’Marr Chase wasn’t singled out more than any other No. 1 receiver.
With all that said, should the Chicago Bears reunite Justin Fields with former college teammates from the Ohio State Buckeyes? Great question. Which teammate is first?