Despite coming off a league-worst 3-14 record last season, expectations for the Bears in 2023 are high around Chicagoland. People expect a big boost on offense from new No. 1 wide receiver DJ Moore. The hope is that a completely revamped defense led by free agent signings Tremaine Edmunds and Yannick Ngakoue will help keep points off the board. But the biggest reason fans have their hopes up this year is an expected Year Three bump from Justin Fields.
To call 2023 a big year for the Bears quarterback is an incredible understatement. Not only will Fields’ play likely determine how the Bears fare as a team, his play could determine his future with the team. Will he cement himself as a franchise quarterback? Or will he flounder with an improved roster around him and tempt the team to draft a new rookie next year?
Right now, it looks like Fields not only has the stuff to develop into the well-rounded superstar QB the Bears believe he can be. Over the year we’re going to monitor his play, and compare it to the other QBs in the conference to see how he stacks up. Since no games have been played yet, we’re firing from the hip a bit. Take these rankings with a grain of salt. But here’s where Fields ranks among all NFC quarterbacks:
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NO. 16: JOSH DOBBS OR CLAYTON TUNE - CARDINALS
It doesn’t matter who the Cardinals pick to lead their offense in Week 1. Either guy is an easy pick to put at the bottom ahead of the regular season.
NO. 15: DESMOND RIDDER - FALCONS
Ridder took over as the Falcons’ starter for the last four games of the season, and was largely ineffective to begin. He finally appeared to make some headway in Week 18, when he threw his first and second career touchdown passes. Ball security was an issue in his four starts last season, and he’ll need to clean it up this year.
NFL
NO. 14: SAM HOWELL - COMMANDERS
The Commanders have praised Howell throughout the offseason, and in the limited action we saw last season he was ok. In just one game, Howell completed 11-19 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added five carries for 35 yards and another score. Gotta see more before moving him up the list.
NO. 13: BRYCE YOUNG - PANTHERS
Young was this year’s No. 1 overall pick for good reason. He’s a proven winner and he’s an accurate passer. Scouts love his football IQ and pocket presence, too. It’s hard to win in the NFL as a rookie, though. Another “prove it to move up” player.
NO. 12: JORDAN LOVE - PACKERS
Reports out of Green Bay say Love could turn some heads this season. Not entirely surprising to hear the Packers may have developed another really good QB. We’ll see when the games are played for real and until then it’s too early to have Love too high on this list.
NO. 11: BAKER MAYFIELD - BUCCANEERS
Mayfield has gotten many chances to prove himself as a starter in the NFL. If things don’t work out with the Bucs will he get any more?
NO. 10: BROCK PURDY - 49ERS
Purdy was the biggest surprise in the league last year, as he went from the last pick in the NFL Draft to unlikely leader in the NFC Championship game. Purdy went on an incredible seven-game winning streak to start his NFL career, including two playoff wins. Technically that streak came to a close against the Eagles in the conference championship, but we’ll cut him slack since he only threw four passes before an injury forced him out of the game. We’ll see if he can pick up where he left off this year.
NO. 9: GENO SMITH - SEAHAWKS
Last year, Smith enjoyed a renaissance with the Seahawks. After years of underwhelming play, he was a legit MVP candidate over the first half of the year. Over the second half however, he threw too many picks and his campaign fizzled a bit. Which Smith will we get this season?
NO. 8: DEREK CARR - SAINTS
After nine seasons, we know who Carr is as a quarterback. He’s solid, has plenty of arm strength and can move an offense downfield. He’s not an upper echelon QB, though.
NO. 7: DANIEL JONES - GIANTS
Many fans were ready to give up on Jones early in his career, but he took a huge step forward in his development under new head coach Brian Daboll in 2022. He set career highs in passing yards (3,205) and completion percentage (67.2), and cut way down on his interceptions. In fact, his 1.1% INT rate led the league last year. The biggest jump came with his legs, however. Jones obliterated his personal bests and emerged as a legit rushing threat with 120 rushes for 708 yards and seven TDs.
NO. 6: JARED GOFF - LIONS
Goff enjoyed great success in 2022, his second year with the Lions. He looked more like the player who led the Rams to a Super Bowl in 2018, and less like the player who couldn’t follow up that success over the next two seasons.
NO. 5: JUSTIN FIELDS - BEARS
Fields showed last season that he belongs in the top-five of this list due to his insane playmaking ability alone. But with a 150.2 YPG average over two seasons and only 24 passing touchdowns compared to 21 interceptions he’ll need to improve as a passer to ascend even higher. He’s got a better supporting cast this season to do it, too.
NO. 4: DAK PRESCOTT - COWBOYS
Prescott has been a star in Dallas for several years now, but last season was… not great. He recovered from a devastating ankle injury in 2020 to throw for career highs in 2021 (4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns), but he followed that up with career lows in 2022 (2,860 yards, 15 interceptions). For now, Prescott gets the nod over Fields because of his track record as a dynamic passer.
NO. 3: KIRK COUSINS - VIKINGS
Say what you will about the polarizing QB, but Cousins is a proven commodity who produces each and every year. Since becoming a fulltime starter in 2015, Cousins has thrown for over 4,000 yards in seven of eight seasons and has a great 67.5% completion rate. Things were uneven in 2022, his first year in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, but he could be more consistently effective this season.
NO. 2: MATT STAFFORD - RAMS
Injuries sank Stafford’s 2022 season, otherwise he might’ve been No. 1 on this list. He was magnificent in 2021 en route to his first Super Bowl victory.
NO. 1: JALEN HURTS - EAGLES
Hurts is coming off of an incredible season where he proved he can win with both his arm and his legs. Hurts saved his best performance for the Super Bowl, when he nearly willed the Eagles to a win over the Chiefs. He traded blows with Patrick Mahomes in a game for the ages and now enters the season as a legit MVP candidate.