Despite some bumpy moments in 2022, the Chicago Bears felt good enough about Justin Fields’ potential to be the franchise quarterback that they traded away the top pick in this year’s draft.
In fantasy football leagues, Fields was already at that point, having established himself as a reliable starter last season thanks in part to his production on the ground. He put up the kind of numbers that will have fantasy managers dreaming about the possibilities in 2023.
2023 Fantasy Football: Justin Fields Profile
Recap of 2022 season
Fields came close to hitting the rushing records for a rookie quarterback last year, finishing the season with 1,143 yards on the ground and eight touchdowns. As a passer, Fields threw 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 picks, but the real takeaway here is that he showed real improvement throwing the ball over the second half of the season.
Updated Bears outlook
Chicago isn’t going to be a very good team this season. Hitting the over on the projected win total of 7.5 feels like a stretch. Adding DJ Moore to the mix at wide receiver will certainly help the offense as well as Fields’ passing numbers.
Best-case scenario
If Fields were to maintain his rushing numbers from last season and take a step forward as a passer, he could vault himself into one of the best quarterbacks in fantasy football. Imagine a ceiling of something like 25 touchdown passes and a lower interception rate to go with 1,000 yards on the ground and seven or eight rushing scores.
Worst-case scenario
Chicago’s bet on Fields turns out to be the wrong one. We see him take a step back as a passer, and opposing defenses figure out how to limit the damage he can do on the ground. Or, there’s the possibility that the Bears have him run less, putting more emphasis on his work throwing the ball. In that situation, given Chicago’s outlook for the season, Fields’ production numbers could be low enough to leave him as nothing more than a fantasy streamer.
Prediction
It seems like Fields will be asked to do more in the passing game this year, but it’s reasonable to expect him to build on the improvement he showed late last season. Having a No. 1 wideout like Moore should help his totals too, and let’s not forget the addition of offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the 10th pick in the draft. Fields’ rushing numbers will probably dip a little bit, but he could make up for that with more production in the passing game.