As Bears look for QB Justin Fields to make jump as passer, here’s how he can do it

Everybody knows the Bears’ upcoming season hinges on whether Justin Fields grows into a franchise quarterback. They’re betting on a lot of unknowns, and that’s the most pivotal of them.

But what, specifically, would that look like?

The need for production is obvious after Fields managed just a 60.4 completion percentage, 149.5 yards per game and a 85.2 passer rating in 2022. The Bears were at the bottom of the NFL in passing and only looked somewhat viable as an offense because of Fields rushing for 1,143 yards and David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert combining for another 1,532.

That worked at times, but it’s not going to last. The other top runners at the position — Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen — are far more prolific passers.

Jackson was the best running quarterback in the NFL before Fields overtook him last season and has thrown for 203.9 yards per game since becoming the Ravens’ full-time starter in 2019. Fields has broken 200 just six times in 27 career games.

There are some clear opportunities in place for Fields now that the Bears have rounded out their offensive personnel. Here are four things they need to see from him this season:

More Moore

Bears general manager Ryan Poles might not have made the trade with the Panthers if he couldn’t get wide receiver DJ Moore. That was the final piece that swayed him to deal the No. 1 pick; the extra second-rounder and 2024 first-rounder weren’t enough.

The Bears went into the offseason with Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool at receiver and needed someone better than both. They found that in Moore, who averaged more than 1,000 yards over his first five seasons despite the Panthers’ parade of forgettable quarterbacks during that span.

But Poles didn’t make the move thinking only that Moore would boost Fields. He’s planning on it working both ways. Fields could propel Moore, who has cracked the top 10 in yards receiving just once, higher than he has ever been.

The Bears are looking for balance, but Moore is the undisputed No. 1 of this group. He’s the oldest, most accomplished and most talented guy in the room. Fields needs to throw his way at least 10 times per game.

“To come to a better situation with a stable quarterback, the sky’s the limit,” Moore said when he first walked into Halas Hall.

His arrival should make Fields’ job easier overall. He has no trouble getting open. But beyond that, it’s imperative they connect on deep balls. Moore certainly has that ability more than anyone the Bears have had on the roster during Fields’ brief career. Last season, his average target was 13.2 yards downfield, according to Next Gen Stats.

Fields was near the bottom of the league in throwing downfield, but that was assumed to be largely a product of not having many options. That’s no longer the case.

Mastering mechanics

The conversation around Fields’ development often has been about the deficiencies of the pieces around him, whether skill players or offensive linemen. But Poles and coach Matt Eberflus have been straightforward about Fields needing improvement as well. It’s not just the players around him.

One of the challenges that came with the Bears completely overhauling their staff after Fields’ rookie season was that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko taught him much different footwork than what he learned under Matt Nagy and his assistants. Getsy re-engineered Fields’ mechanics because everything about his passing scheme is tied to the timing of the quarterback’s drop.

“Last year was my first year doing it, so I was just trying to get the hang of it,” Fields said last month. “This year, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with it, just timed up with the routes better. . . . I’m just trying to use my feet as the clock in my head to move from each route in the progression.”

The more he acclimates to those mechanics, the faster Fields should be able to make decisions. Again, every critique needs the disclaimer that he has been playing behind an iffy offensive line, but indecision led to taking some sacks last season. Fields was sacked an NFL-high 55 times, but not all of those were on the offensive line.

This season, the Bears have an offensive line in place that looks sturdy enough. It’s not perfect, but it’s far better on paper than what he had his first two seasons. Poles believes he has put everything necessary around Fields to get a clear evaluation of him, and that seems to be the case.

Now it’s time for him to take a big step forward.

Trusty tight end

When the Bears drafted Fields, tight end Cole Kmet knew their futures were tied together. Even though Andy Dalton was still the placeholder at quarterback, Kmet spent extra time after practice in 2021 catching passes from Fields with an eye on that being a vital relationship down the road.

Last season, Kmet led the Bears in catches (50), yards (544) and touchdown receptions (seven). They both need to push that production up this season.

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Kmet probably isn’t built to be an elite pass-catcher like the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, but good quarterbacks depend on their tight ends in tough spots. Kmet needs to be Fields’ safety valve, and the Bears could use something closer to 70 catches from him this season.

If everyone’s healthy, the offense should lend itself to Kmet doing some damage underneath. Moore, Mooney and Claypool are all downfield players who help spread the defense.

“You look at the pieces that Ryan has brought in and the guys that we have that are coming back, and it looks like a really good group,” Kmet said. “We’re excited about where it’s going . . . and we’re working hard to get this thing going in the right direction in order to go win a Super Bowl.”

That’s quite an ambition. For the Bears to take any significant step down that path, Kmet has to keep climbing, and Fields will play a big role in whether he does.

Full speed ahead

While the Bears’ goal is obviously to cut back on the number of hits Fields takes, they’d be foolish to cast aside his running ability, which is unparalleled at his position. Fields needs to keep running; he just needs to be more selective about when. That also applies to Getsy, who needs to resist relying on it too much.

Eberflus described a narrowed approach to Fields’ running in May as “run it when we need it.” That means he wants him to mostly stick to the pocket unless it’s a pivotal situation like a third down or anything in the red zone. Fields ran 160 times last season (second only to Jalen Hurts’ 165 rushes), and less than half of those met the aforementioned criteria.

Eberflus was talking to Getsy when he said that, too, and one of the chief challenges for Getsy this season will be finding the line between developing Fields into a prolific passer and forcing him too far out of his comfort zone.

“There are plenty of times on film that he shouldn’t [have run], and even though it worked out for us, there’s a better decision,” Getsy said. “There’s times I can coach and say, ‘You should do this,’ but then his instincts tell him to do something and we have to trust that, too.

“I by no means will make that guy robotic. I don’t believe in doing that with any player. But there’s a way to refine it all and improve our decision-making and trusting our timing and rhythm.”

Nonetheless, Fields ran 57 times on third or fourth down last season and averaged 9.3 yards to convert 40 of those for first downs or touchdowns. No other quarterback in the NFL, even Hurts or Jackson, brings that weapon to the line of scrimmage. Fields needs to use it without overusing it.