Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields blew people away with his running ability last season, but can improvements in his passing game make him one of the fantasy football world’s most-impactful players?
According to Jon Macri of Pro Football Focus, the answer could very well be yes.
While he has Fields ranked as the No. 6 fantasy quarterback going into the season, firmly at the top of his second-tier of quarterbacks, he says his value could be even higher.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“He’s in prestigious company for sure,” Macri said on Tuesday’s edition of “Football Night in Chicago” with Pat Boyle. “The main thing for me with Fields is his elite ability as a runner. With the potential for improvement as a passer, we could see Fields outperform that No. 6 ranking, and have a real shot at overall No. 1 slot for fantasy QB purposes this season.”
Macri’s ratings have Jalen Hurts at No. 1, with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes close behind.
Fields ranks ahead of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Los Angeles’ Justin Herbert, something Macri credits to the Bears quarterback’s elite rushing game.
“He had five games of top-five fantasy finishes,” he said. “Last year when we saw him turn it on as a runner, we saw him really start to dominate the fantasy scoring.’
NFL
Fields will also hope to take advantage of new weapons like DJ Moore, as well as the return of a healthy Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet to the fold.
Fields finished last season with a 60.4% completion rate, with 2,242 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. His offensive performance as a runner was remarkable, as he racked up 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.