The Chicago Bears hold the key to the 2023 NFL draft. Their decision to either keep starter Justin Fields, or trade the dynamic dual-threat and draft Alabama Crimson Tide prospect Bryce Young will shape the entire NFL draft. For starters, the Bears’ decision, should they keep Fields and trade the pick, would net them some serious draft capital to build out a roster devoid of talent in many key areas.
Michael Vick Says Bears Should Stick With Fields
It’ll also say they fully believe Fields is their franchise guy going forward. While the allure of drafting the talented Young is compelling, right now the Bears have too many other pressing needs that a trade would help address. And again, Fields is special in his own right with his arm and legs.
Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who was a lot like the aforementioned Fields, told reporters earlier this month that he’d without a doubt stick with Fields.
“I think absolutely the Bears should stick with Justin Fields,” Vick said, via NBC Sports Chicago, while talking to reporters during Super Bowl week. “Good quarterbacks are hard to find. You got a guy who just ran for a 1,000 yards. If you can bring in a passing game coordinator — he’s another quarterback who was in his first year in the system. The second year is paramount throughout the offseason to learn what needs to happen.
“I think they are a step ahead of the curve right now. They just got to make Justin a better passer and get an offense around him that can really help take it to the next level.”
Bears Offensive Scheme Fits Fields’ Skill Set
Second-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who’s a disciple of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, runs a scheme based off LaFleur’s “Pin and Pull” scheme. That scheme is designed to stress defenses to the edge in an effort to make secondary players have to tackle. It’s basically a resemblance of the zone running scheme that LaFleur learned under Mike and Kyle Shanahan.
And Getsy has even incorporated the bootleg and play-action passing game that elder Shanahan made famous in San Francisco and Denver with the Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Steve Young and John Elway under center. It helped produced three Lombardi Trophies between the two stops. But, get this, none of those quarterbacks was as talented as Fields is with his arm and legs.
But he also needs some help, and that’s where GM Ryan Poles comes in.
Poles Has Chance To Build Bears Roster Using No.1 Pick
The Bears are on the clock, and by sticking with Fields they’ll be able to add some quality talent to their roster.
In a recent interview with reporters, the cool and calm Poles, had this to say.
“We have flexibility where if there’s opportunities where if we can turn that into a lot of players that come in and help us, we can do that,” Poles said. “If it’s staying put or really being selective with certain people, we can do that as well. I known my expectation, our expectation, is that we move the needle more to be successful. We can win some of these close games and bring in guys that can impact this football team.”
Poles is correct, the Bears have plenty of options, and it sounds as if they’re leaning heavily on trading that golden pick to acquire more draft capital.
This is a make or break, career decision for Poles and the Bears organization. If any of the available QBs in this draft develop into a better player than Fields, it will be another serious regret, like trading up to choose Mitchell Trubisky over Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. But hearing Poles express such confidence in him has to make Fields happy, because he spent 2022 running for his life and throwing the football to guys who are better suited as backups.
Chicago needs an influx of talent, and this pick will bring plenty of it.
