In order to move up and select top-ranked quarterback prospect Justin Fields in last year's NFL Draft, the retooling Chicago Bears were forced to trade their lone 2022 first-round pick to the New York Giants. And although the franchise drafted nearly a dozen college prospects during the annual event in late April, the selections made by first-year general manager Ryan Poles received some mixed reviews from analysts and fans.
With needs at several key positions, Chicago decided not to pursue offensive weapons in the second round. Instead, they drafted two defensive backs that have potential to be immediate starters in their secondary. The Bears took just one receiver -- Velus Jones Jr. from Tennessee at No. 78 overall -- and drafted three offensive linemen beyond the midway point of the fifth round. Suffice to say, it's unclear whether Fields will take considerable strides forward in 2022.
"It's a great idea to build a good team around Fields. But the Bears didn't do it. They chose not to do it," Football Outsiders analyst and writer Mike Tanier told Maggie and Perloff on Tuesday. "They went out and grabbed a couple of guys in the secondary, kind of swapped out a couple of offensive linemen and said, 'Yeah, we're done here.' That's not building a good team around Justin Fields. Granted, there's only so much they could do. They didn't have a first-rounder.
"But they could've done something. And they did, pretty much, less than the least they could possibly do to help support Fields this year... They didn't get an experienced [wide receiver] for him either... It's not just a second-round receiver, it could've been two second-round receivers... We haven't heard of any of these guys on the offensive side. We're talking about Darnell Mooney, and guys like Byron Pringle as starters. That's a USFL-caliber receiving corps."
Fields' first NFL start was a nightmare. In the Bears' 26-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns, back on Sept. 26, their offense produced only 47 yards and averaged 1.1 yards per play -- the second-lowest mark by any team in a game during this century. Fields was also sacked nine times for 67 yards lost. In 12 total games (10 starts) last season, the 23-year-old amassed 1,870 passing yards with nine all-purpose touchdowns, 10 picks, and a 58.9 completion percentage.
The Bears, which finished 6-11 for third place in the NFC North in 2021, parted ways with head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace earlier this offseason. Although Nagy won NFL Coach of the Year back in 2018 -- leading them to 12 wins and their first NFC playoff appearance in eight years -- he was unable to sustain success. Over the next three seasons, Chicago went 22-27.
The entire NFL conversation between Tanier and Maggie and Perloff can be accessed in the audio player above.
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