Ranking the 2021 NFL Draft quarterback class: Guess where Trevor Lawrence lands
• The Jaguars went with Trevor Lawrence
• How does he stack up against his peers
No. 3 QB to come out of the 2021 NFL Draft: Justin Fields, Round 1, 11th overall
At some point, you want players to turn upside or potential into production and Justin Fields is entering that stage of his NFL career. Make no mistake, the former Ohio State has all the talent in the world. Heck, he even made the NFL's top 100 list of players in 2023 even though he probably didn't deserve to make an appearance.
It's true that Fields registered 1,000 yards on the ground in 2022 and that's an accomplishment worth praising. Moreover, dual-threat quarterbacks will always be difficult to stop and game-plan for. But Fields isn't that player, at least not yet. In his sophomore campaign, he completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,421 yards for 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. While those are solid numbers, they're not the ones you expect from a franchise quarterback.
Working against Fields is that he doesn't seem to have a coordinator who can get the most out of him. In his rookie campaign, the Georgia native had Bill Lazor but Luke Getsy, who's had the position since 2022, hasn't been able to elevate his game.
You could point to Fields' lack of weapons but his supporting cast, while not great, isn't dreadful either. He's currently got a capable trio of receivers in Chase Claypool, D.J. Moore and Darnell Mooney.
It's possible that Fields, like other players, needs time to hit his stride and put it all together. However, it's not far-fetched to say that he hasn't met expectations. Maybe he will but he certainly hasn't yet and it's fair to wonder how much patience the Bears will exercise before they choose to pull the plug on him.