This offseason has been one of the more exciting ones in Chicago Bears history, solely based on the fact that general manager Ryan Pace made the splash trade to draft quarterback Justin Fields.
Because the NFL is a quarterback-driven league, this was one of the biggest moves in Bears history. Never have they drafted a quarterback as physically-gifted as Fields is. The future certainly looks bright, if you’re a Bears fan.
However, not everyone agrees with that statement. In fact, ESPN just released a piece they called their “future rankings,” where they ranked every NFL team based on their potential success over the next three seasons (2021-2023).
In order to read the full article, you’ll need an ESPN+ subscription, but to put it simply, the rankings make zero sense for the Bears.
ESPN loves to hate the Chicago Bears, and these future rankings are further proof.
The Bears came in at number 27 out of 32, with a grade of 69.1 For context, a grade of 60 equals what they label as “very bad,” and a grade of 70 equals “average.”
Some of the explanation includes talk like “if Justin Fields doesn’t pan out,” or even moving on from both Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson.
Here’s the deal: if the Bears moved on from Mack and Jackson in the coming year or so, they could go from ESPN’s current grade to the very bottom of the barrel. These “experts” don’t understand that Mack has still been one of the most effective pass rushers in the league over the past couple of seasons. Despite sack numbers being down, he is still a top-5 disruptor according to Pro Football Focus.
Moving on from Jackson, meanwhile, would be foolish. The guys who wrote these rankings don’t seem to want to look at the facts. Over the past two seasons under Chuck Pagano, Jackson hasn’t been allowed to roam as free, and at the same time the Bears’ pass rush hasn’t been as good as it was under Fangio.
Now under Sean Desai (one of Fangio’s right-hand men), this defense should be far more aggressive, which would lead to Jackson reverting to form, in terms of takeaways and big plays.
Lastly, we come back to Fields. How on earth could you seriously insinuate Fields not panning out? First of all, you’re going to give him just a season or two to make that judgement call? That seems ludicrous, when most quarterbacks get more than two years to develop.
Second, Fields’ physical talent and accuracy coming out of college does everything except set in stone the fact that he’ll pan out. Sure, there’s a chance everybody busts — even Trevor Lawrence, for that matter. But, to even suggest Fields isn’t going to pan out is just silly.
These rankings are, once again, further proof that ESPN (and most of the national media) loves to hate on the Bears, period.
