Tape study was easy with Justin Fields when the Chicago Bears began their quest to find a new quarterback. There weren’t a lot of things to hate. Size? Check. Arm strength? Plenty. Accuracy at all levels? Yep. Productive? Indeed. Physically speaking, the Ohio State QB had everything a team could want. Yet John DeFilippo has been down this road before. Several times in fact. He knows quarterback evaluation is about much more than that.
For context? DeFilippo was involved directly in the drafting of three 1st round quarterbacks prior to his arrival in Chicago. JaMarcus Russell in 2007, Mark Sanchez in 2009, and Carson Wentz in 2016. This doesn’t even include Derek Carr in 2014 who went in the 2nd round. So this coach has seen every side of the draft process and all the mistakes that can be made. From his estimation, the pre-draft interviews can tell a team so much about a player.
What did they say about Fields?
Adam Jahns of the Athletic spoke to DeFilippo about the new rookie quarterback. It was here the coach revealed an interesting nugget from their interviews before the draft. One thing that DeFilippo has noticed with many young QBs coming out? They’re reluctant to discuss actual football. While that isn’t a complete red flag, it is noteworthy. Fields? There was no such problem. He didn’t just willingly talk football. He relished it.
“It was kind of like he lit up once we started talking football,” quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo said. “A lot of times with these young players, it’s the opposite. You know, OK, this is why I chose my agent or this is why I’m training here. And then once the football part of it comes, it’s like it dies down at times.
“He was the exact opposite – like he lit up once we started talking football. And that to me said a lot because you could tell how much he absolutely loves the game. And that’s what was really cool with him.”
One aspect of a player that is constantly underrated? Love of the game. Here’s the thing. Football is a hard sport. It demands a lot from you, in both mind and body. So to perform it at a high level requires a total commitment. That is hard for players to give up unless they truly love the game. This something team must always look for. Which players love football and which are using it as an avenue to make money? It is pretty clear where Fields stands on this debate.
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Justin Fields made it pretty clear early on football was his love
Some people don’t recall that the Bears rookie was heavily into baseball during the latter stages of high school as well. Enough to where he was receiving genuine interest for the MLB draft. Yet it became apparent to evaluators even then that it was pointless to try swaying him. Fields was leaning football from the start and planned to attend Georgia. Three years and countless memorable moments later? Here we are.
It wasn’t hard for DeFilippo and the coaching staff to recognize how much the game mattered to him. Combine that with his obvious talent and relentless work ethic? It’s little wonder the Bears felt comfortable trading up from #20 to #11 to grab him. Justin Fields has everything a team could want in a franchise quarterback. Nothing is a guarantee in the NFL but if anybody has a shot to finally break the Bears’ QB curse, it’s him.
It falls to DeFilippo and the coaches to help him.
They must construct the right scheme to maximize his talents. GM Ryan Pace must do everything in his power to surround him with weapons and protection. No expense should be spared. The defense can wait. Bears fans will next see Fields at the start of June when Organized Team Activities begin. That is when the true ramping up for training camp will begin.
