Justin Fields is one of the most polarizing players in the NFL at the moment.
Once the Bears had locked up the number one overall selection, rumors began to swirl about Fields’ future with the franchise. USC’s Caleb Williams was and still is the obvious number-one overall selection, which would push Fields to the bench with the end of his rookie contract looming.
Keeping Fields as a backup didn’t make a lot of sense, both contract-wise and team morale-wise. It would have been a difficult transition for a guy who had once been hailed as the future of the franchise.
Naturally, the logical conclusion was to trade him, with many thinking Fields would fetch a second-round pick easily. However, the market for the fourth-year quarterback was dry, and he was traded to Pittsburgh for only a sixth-round selection. The league was much lower on Fields than initially anticipated.
One analyst who is particularly low on Fields is Colin Cowherd. He talked about Fields on The Herd today, giving him a pretty rough quarterback comparison.
“Justin Fields is closer to Zach Wilson. I just don’t think he’s an NFL quarterback. So this idea that ‘he just needs a change of environment,’ [but] Tomlin’s a defensive coach.” Cowherd said. “They haven’t been able to get the offensive coordinator or the run game right. This idea that Justin Fields ‘just needs a new start’ – Why aren’t you saying that for Zack Wilson? Because the numbers look the same.”
Zach Wilson? Yikes. I know Fields didn’t get much on the open market, but he got more than Wilson’s late-round pick swap return. Let’s take a look at the numbers to see if what he is saying is true.
First, let’s look at their team’s “success”, which is a real loose term in this case. Zach Wilson has started 33 games with a record of 12-21, compared to 38 starts for Fields, where he carries a record of 10-28. There is a slight advantage to Wilson, although I struggle to give him any credit for going nine games under .500.
Next, let’s look at some passing stats. Wilson has recorded just 6.3 yards per attempt for his career, while Fields sits a 7.0, with both guys right around their career averages last year. Fields also has the advantage in touchdown percentage by quite a bit, at 4.1%, compared to Wilson’s abysmal 2.3%. That’s borderline Kenny Pickett territory for Wilson, although Pickett is still somehow lower at 1.8%. Fields threw slightly more picks, but his passer rating and QBR outpace Wilson by a fairly large margin, firmly giving the passing stat advantage to Fields.
And we haven’t even talked about Fields’ best trait yet: his legs. He’s run for 2,220 yards in his career, more than four times the amount Wilson has run for at just 498. Sure, he gets more chances to do so, but he’s efficient in those attempts, leading the league in yards per carry in 2022.
Justin Fields has far from good career numbers, and his value is more based on what he can do than what he has done. But to compare him to Wilson, one of the worst statistical quarterbacks in recent memory, is downright disrespectful. Fields might not have the chance to prove just how disrespectful it is this season, but it’s likely he’ll get another shot somewhere at some point.
