In Need Of An Upgraded Cast

Bothered by a hip strain, Justin Fields is sidelined for the Bears’ final game of the season on Sunday. It has been a successful one for the second-year quarterback despite the team’s limitations, placing the onus on General Manager Ryan Poles to significantly upgrade the offense around him.

Fields ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing with 1,143 yards, only 63 short of Lamar Jackson’s rushing record for quarterbacks. He leads the league with 7.1 yards per rush and is tied for 12th with eight rushing touchdowns. But the Bears’ passing game has been a disaster all season, with a league low total of 2,078 passing yards, which is 413 fewer than 31st-ranked Atlanta.

Fields has been sacked a league-high 55 times, which partially accounts for his nine fumbles, which is the most in the league. The lack of balance is why Pro Football Focus grades him out as the NFL’s 23rd most efficient quarterback, placing him between Jared Goff and Sam Darnold. NFL Next Gen stats gives Fields an 85.2 passing rating, which ranks 27th (between Mac Jones and Matt Ryan).

The graders at PFFPFF
rate Fields as the third-best rushing quarterback, behind only Josh Allen and Jackson, but rank him 36th in passing, between Baker Mayfield and Taylor Heinicke. This is at least as much a failing of the cast around him as Fields himself.

Poles made only minor improvements to the offense after replacing Ryan Pace as general manager following the 2021 season. He opted to use the Bears’ two highest draft picks on defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker while spending conservatively on the free-agent market.

The overall result is the Bears’ 3-13 record, which has them positioned to pick second in this year’s draft. Poles will be tasked with filling needs all over the field but wide receiver should be a priority. PFF currently does not rank any of Fields’ targets in the league’s top 50 at the position.

Darnell Mooney, who ranked 33rd as a rookie in 2021, has fallen to 51st in a season when he has only 40 catches for 493 yards and two touchdowns. PFF ranks Equanimeous St. Brown 79th, Chase Claypool 95th and Dante Pettis 111th.

Poles acquired Claypool from Pittsburgh with a second-round pick after dealing defensive standouts Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn at mid-season. It seemed like a nice hedge on what is considered to be a weak market for free-agent receivers but Claypool missed two games with a knee injury and has only 12 catches for 111 yards and no touchdowns in the six he’s played.

Claypool, a star at Notre Dame in 2019, was a second-round pick in the ’20 draft. His production has declined throughout his three seasons, with PFF ranking him 36th as a rookie, then 65th in ’21. He’ll enter next season as more of a question mark than a reliable upgrade.

In addition to eight picks in the draft, including five in the first four rounds, the Bears have an extraordinary opportunity to improve through signing veterans. They currently have $119.3 million in projected cap room for the upcoming free-agent period, and that total will likely increase when the league sets limits for the 2023 season.

The list of receivers currently headed to free agency does not create much excitement. It is headed by Sterling Shepard, Allen Lazard, DJ Charm, Jakobi Meyers, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman.

The list of draft-eligible wide receivers includes TCU’s Quentin Johnson, Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, USC’s Jordan Addison, Boston College’s Zay Flowers, LSU’s Kayshon Boutte, North Carolina’s Josh Downs, Purdue’s Charlie Jones, SMU’s Rashee Rice and Tennesee’s Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman.

While the Bears will consider a wide receiver for their top spot, most analysts expect them to use their first-rounder — assuming they don’t trade down, which Poles likes to do — to upgrade the defensive front.

They could possibly land a pass rusher and a top target for Fields by trading their highest pick — likely the second overall, depending on Sunday’s results — to the Lions, Dolphins, Eagles or Seahawks, who each have two first-round picks. The Texans also have two picks but no need to trade up, as one of those projects to be first overall.