Justin Fields had a turbulent three years in Chicago. Louis Riddick thinks Pittsburgh will provide the stability for him to finally flourish. Appearing on NFL Live Wednesday afternoon, Riddick not only said that he thinks Fields will surpass QB Russell Wilson on the depth chart, he’ll surpass all expectations.
“Russell’s gonna probably start the season,” Riddick said. “And then what’s gonna wind up happening is Justin Fields gonna take over probably halfway through the season because this offense is tailor-made for exactly what he needs, I believe, to take his game to another level.”
Riddick pointed to pairing Fields with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who is accustomed to building offenses around mobile quarterbacks. Former college wide receiver Ryan Tannehill had his two best years under Smith in Tennessee, rushing for 11 touchdowns across the 2019 and 2020 seasons while making real strides as a passer.
“Because they run the football, they change the launch points,” Riddick said. “They use play-action pass. They use the dynamic running ability of the quarterback to their advantage.”
One big change under Smith will be an increased use of play-action. As Clayton Eckert recently pointed out, the three teams to use play-action the least over the last five seasons all include the Steelers, notably a league-low 80 times in 2023. Smith’s play-action rates are closer to the top in the league and a healthy running game that keeps Pittsburgh on schedule will further that.
Fields’ biggest issue has been a lack of consistency. Lots of highs, plenty of lows. Riddick argued the structure around him will even out his play.
“The run game combined with the play-action pass game will take Justin’s game to a much more consistent another level,” he said.
Riddick joked that the Steelers will have a “two-quarterback system” but one that replaces Wilson with Fields as the first quarterback midway through the year. Riddick might be underestimating the slack Wilson will get. He won’t get pulled as quickly as Mitch Trubisky did in 2022. But if the Steelers are through 10-12 weeks and struggling, they shouldn’t – and probably won’t – hesitate to turn to Fields to determine what he offers the team.
