I like the look of Justin Fields. He’s a talented guy, with a chance to develop into Chicago’s best quarterback since Sid Luckman. I just hope they don’t get him killed before it can happen.
Fields has good accuracy on long-range passes, and physically he’s like another Josh Allen or Cam Newton – a big guy who can move. But he’s also raw, and he’ll be working behind an offensive line that looks like a disaster.
They’ve got problems at both tackle spots. They’ve got Germain Ifedi on the right; he’s missed most of camp, and he’s really not very good even when healthy. And on the left side, they’re banking on 39-year-old Jason Peters.
Fields is big and fast; that should help him get away from some pass rushers. But he’s also not very good at this point at recognizing where pressure is coming from and where the ball needs to go. In the preseason game against Buffalo, he got nailed by a corner blitz, with his helmet sent flying. A veteran quarterback in that situation would have seen it coming and avoided it by getting the ball out quick.
That’s just one play, of course, but Fields had some of those issues in college, including a couple of dreadful games last year. In his two years at Ohio State, he was sacked about once every 12 pass plays.
Below, see a list of quarterbacks selected with top-15 picks since 2010. The list shows all 57 college seasons in which any of those quarterbacks attempted at least 100 passes in a season. Fields ranks last and next-to-last on that list.
Talented guy. Let’s hope they can get him polished up before he suffers a career-altering injury.
On the list below, the other rookie quarterbacks for this year are tagged with black dots.
| COLLEGE QUARTERBACKS / SACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pk | Players | No | Att | Pct | Per Att |
| 2019 | 15 | • Mac Jones | 2 | 141 | 1.4% | 71.5 |
| 2010 | 1 | Andrew Luck | 6 | 372 | 1.6% | 63.0 |
| 2016 | 3 | Sam Darnold | 6 | 366 | 1.6% | 62.0 |
| 2011 | 8 | Ryan Tannehill | 9 | 531 | 1.7% | 60.0 |
| 2009 | 1 | Andrew Luck | 6 | 288 | 2.0% | 49.0 |
| 2011 | 1 | Andrew Luck | 11 | 404 | 2.7% | 37.7 |
| 2018 | 1 | • Trevor Lawrence | 11 | 397 | 2.7% | 37.1 |
| 2016 | 12 | Deshaun Watson | 17 | 579 | 2.9% | 35.1 |
| 2015 | 12 | Deshaun Watson | 15 | 491 | 3.0% | 33.7 |
| 2020 | 15 | • Mac Jones | 13 | 402 | 3.1% | 31.9 |
| 2014 | 1 | Jameis Winston | 17 | 467 | 3.5% | 28.5 |
| 2018 | 5 | Tua Tagovailoa | 13 | 355 | 3.5% | 28.3 |
| 2018 | 15 | Dwayne Haskins | 20 | 533 | 3.6% | 27.7 |
| 2015 | 2 | Carson Wentz | 8 | 208 | 3.7% | 27.0 |
| 2019 | 5 | Tua Tagovailoa | 10 | 252 | 3.8% | 26.2 |
| 2019 | 1 | • Trevor Lawrence | 17 | 407 | 4.0% | 24.9 |
| 2019 | 2 | • Trey Lance | 12 | 287 | 4.0% | 24.9 |
| 2009 | 10 | Blaine Gabbert | 19 | 445 | 4.1% | 24.4 |
| 2010 | 2 | Robert Griffin III | 20 | 454 | 4.2% | 23.7 |
| 2016 | 2 | Mitchell Trubisky | 20 | 446 | 4.3% | 23.3 |
| 2020 | 1 | • Trevor Lawrence | 15 | 334 | 4.3% | 23.3 |
| 2009 | 12 | Christian Ponder | 15 | 330 | 4.3% | 23.0 |
| 2016 | 10 | Patrick Mahomes | 27 | 591 | 4.4% | 22.9 |
| 2020 | 2 | • Zach Wilson | 11 | 236 | 4.5% | 22.5 |
| 2013 | 2 | Marcus Mariota | 18 | 386 | 4.5% | 22.4 |
| 2015 | 10 | Patrick Mahomes | 27 | 573 | 4.5% | 22.2 |
| 2014 | 2 | Carson Wentz | 16 | 336 | 4.5% | 22.0 |
| 2018 | 1 | Kyler Murray | 18 | 377 | 4.6% | 21.9 |
| 2010 | 10 | Blaine Gabbert | 23 | 475 | 4.6% | 21.7 |
| 2015 | 1 | Jared Goff | 26 | 529 | 4.7% | 21.3 |
| 2016 | 1 | Baker Mayfield | 18 | 358 | 4.8% | 20.9 |
| 2012 | 2 | Marcus Mariota | 17 | 336 | 4.8% | 20.8 |
| 2014 | 1 | Jared Goff | 26 | 509 | 4.9% | 20.6 |
| 2010 | 8 | Ryan Tannehill | 12 | 234 | 4.9% | 20.5 |
| 2013 | 3 | Blake Bortles | 21 | 382 | 5.2% | 19.2 |
| 2012 | 3 | Blake Bortles | 22 | 399 | 5.2% | 19.1 |
| 2019 | 6 | Justin Herbert | 24 | 428 | 5.3% | 18.8 |
| 2016 | 10 | Josh Rosen | 13 | 231 | 5.3% | 18.8 |
| 2010 | 8 | Jake Locker | 19 | 332 | 5.4% | 18.5 |
| 2017 | 10 | Josh Rosen | 26 | 451 | 5.5% | 18.3 |
| 2019 | 2 | • Zach Wilson | 19 | 319 | 5.6% | 17.8 |
| 2013 | 1 | Jared Goff | 32 | 531 | 5.7% | 17.6 |
| 2017 | 3 | Sam Darnold | 29 | 480 | 5.7% | 17.6 |
| 2017 | 6 | Daniel Jones | 28 | 453 | 5.8% | 17.2 |
| 2017 | 1 | Baker Mayfield | 26 | 404 | 6.0% | 16.5 |
| 2019 | 1 | Joe Burrow | 34 | 527 | 6.1% | 16.5 |
| 2011 | 2 | Robert Griffin III | 27 | 402 | 6.3% | 15.9 |
| 2014 | 2 | Marcus Mariota | 31 | 445 | 6.5% | 15.4 |
| 2013 | 1 | Jameis Winston | 27 | 384 | 6.6% | 15.2 |
| 2009 | 8 | Jake Locker | 28 | 395 | 6.6% | 15.1 |
| 2018 | 6 | Daniel Jones | 28 | 392 | 6.7% | 15.0 |
| 2016 | 7 | Josh Allen | 27 | 373 | 6.8% | 14.8 |
| 2010 | 12 | Christian Ponder | 23 | 299 | 7.1% | 14.0 |
| 2017 | 7 | Josh Allen | 22 | 270 | 7.5% | 13.3 |
| 2010 | 1 | Cam Newton | 23 | 280 | 7.6% | 13.2 |
| 2019 | 11 | Justin Fields | 31 | 354 | 8.1% | 12.4 |
| 2020 | 11 | Justin Fields | 21 | 225 | 8.5% | 11.7 |
—Ian Allan