Justin Fields

Justin Fields was the star quarterback for Ohio State for two seasons. He started his collegiate career at Georgia but because of the logjam of quarterbacks the Bulldogs had, he transferred from Georgia to Ohio State. He managed to win the Buckeyes job in 2019 and as a sophomore had 3,273 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes. He was named the 2019 Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He led the team to the College Football Playoff, but the team fell to Clemson in the semifinals. In 2020, Fields was the starting quarterback for the coronavirus-impacted season. He played in eight games and had 2,100 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes. He won the 2020 Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He led the Buckeyes to the national championship but lost to Alabama in the final.

The Chicago Bears selected Fields with the No. 11 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft even though they had Nick Foles and Andy Dalton on the roster. The Bears declared Dalton the starting quarterback to begin the season but Fields’ play in the preseason has already put pressure on Chicago to play him immediately. The Bears took a chance on Mitchell Trubisky with a high draft pick a few years ago but he could never find the right footing in Chicago. There will be a lot pressure for Fields to succeed immediately as the great defense the team built before he came is getting older and the division they play in are only getting tougher. He was a prime Rookie of the Year candidate and is part of a young crop of quarterbacks representing the NFL’s future.