CHICAGO (BVM) — “With the 11th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the (my) Chicago Bears select Justin Fields, quarterback, Ohio State,” Carlos Nelson, CEO of Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, exclaimed. 

Less than a month ago, the Chicago Bears traded their 20th pick overall, fifth–round pick and their first and fourth–round picks for the 2022 NFL Draft with the New York Giants for the 11th pick in this year’s draft, to secure a quarterback. 

Justin Fields is exactly what the Chicago Bears need. He is the full package. Fields is known for his explosive arm, fast footwork and picking apart defensive plays. Fields is exactly the player Chicago Bears Coach Matt Nagy needs to open up the offense and take the team to the next level.

Born and raised in Kennesaw, Ga., Fields started his football career at Harrison High School. In the two years as starting quarterback, he totaled 4,187 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 2,096 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns. 

Fields received the Mr. Georgia Football award by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta in 2018. In 2017, he was named Class 6A offensive player of the year by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and the Associated Press. He was named first-team all-state by both publications, awarded MVP for the 2017 Elite 11 Quarterback Competition, and was rated the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2018 as well as one of the nation’s top-ranked QB prospects. 

Fields was rated as a five-star recruit by the Class of 2018 Recruits on ESPN. From there, Fields committed to the University of Georgia to continue his football career. 

As a freshman quarterback at Georgia, Fields was the backup to starting quarterback Jake Fromm. Throughout his freshman year, he totaled 328 passing yards completing 27 of 39 passes, four touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. 

Fields was named SEC Freshman of the Week after passing for 121 yards, rushing for 100 yards and being a part of three touchdowns in a 66-27 win over UMass. 

Fields had the opportunity to play in 12 of 14 games as a freshman and was named to the coaches freshman All-SEC team. After the season was over, Fields had announced he was transferring to Ohio State University. 

Throughout the 2019 football season, Fields was awarded and named a Heisman Trophy finalist; Big Ten Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year; Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year; Davey O’Brien Award finalist; First Team All-Big Ten (coaches and media) and Second team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, CBS Sports, Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association and Football Writers Association of America.

Throughout the 2020 football season, Fields was awarded and named Chicago Tribune Silver Football award winner; Big Ten Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year; Big Ten Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year; First Team All-Big Ten and Sugar Bowl MVP. 

Throughout both seasons, Fields led Ohio State to a 20-2 overall record and appeared in back-to-back College Football Playoffs for the first time in the school’s history. He also threw for a total of 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns, while rushing for 867 yards with 15 TDs. The quarterback completed 68.4% of passes as well and only threw nine interceptions. 

Now, at 22 years old, Justin Fields is about to make history with the Chicago Bears. 

Nagy: "His mechanics were really good. I thought he seemed super calm."@justnfields impresses in first NFL practice. https://t.co/MVwOiqCUgH

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) May 15, 2021

At 6-foot-3, 228-pounds, Fields was showing off at the rookie camp like no other. Fields’ movement and arm strength was present. He was driven during the three days of minicamp. The topic of conversation is, “Is Justin Fields going to start over Andy Dalton?” The answer to that is, while Fields will most likely play as a rookie, Dalton is likely going to start as quarterback for the Chicago Bears. 

Fields needs to prove to Nagy that with his consistent skills, he is ready for the big leagues. Even though this is a huge deal for the Bears, fans are eager and excited to get to Soldier Field and watch both Fields and Dalton. 

The competition for starting QB is going to be hot and there may or may not be tension. If all goes right, Fields may end up taking the starting QB spot with his skills. Even though Nagy and the coaching staff do not want to rush anything, they want to let time play out and see how Fields transitions over to the National Football League.

A fan?

Follow your favorite teams