As first impressions go, the word out of Halas Hall is Justin Fields looked the part. The 11th overall pick was sharp in his first practice with the Chicago Bears. Though it was rookie minicamps without pads, there were no signs of concern. His passes were accurate. He handled snaps under center with ease. Fields even took time to correct a teammate who’d run the wrong route on a pass play.
He looked every bit like he belonged. However, the massive amounts of attention he got made it easy to forget there were several other rookies in on the action. This included six other draft picks. Did anybody else make their presence felt? The answer is yes. Multiple reports suggested that 6th round wide receiver Dazz Newsome was a regular presence in drills as Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago illustrates here.
Coaches hate seeing the ball on the ground and it simply wasn’t an issue Friday — a good sign for the receivers too. Sixth-round pick Dazz Newsome made a notable sliding grab on a deep ball from Kyle Sloter, who is attending camp as a veteran tryout player.
Probably not what some people expected to hear.
By most accounts, Newsome was the most active receiver on the field. He already seemed to have a connection with Fields. Never a bad sign. His mixture of quickness and strong hands stood out consistently. While the competition wasn’t exactly top of the line, it was a welcome demonstration of what he can do. Despite his humble draft slot, Newsome has talent and a deeper understanding of his position than people realize.
Even the limited highlights released from the first day of practice show this. Newsome’s #83 pops out quite a few times. Unusual to think about considering Javon Wims wore that number the past three years. He apparently decided to switch to #15, allowing Newsome to scoop up the vacated digit. Since #5, his number in college was unavailable he decided on #83. Eight minus three equals five.
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Hopefully, he can be the first receiver since Willie Gault to make that number relevant.
Did the Chicago Bears get a steal in Newsome?
Time will tell. Still, there is evidence to suggest the receiver was a bit overlooked coming out of North Carolina. This due to the presence of teammate Dyami Brown who got a lot more attention. Hence why he went in the 3rd round. Yet when looking and the stats and the tape? Newsome more than held his own. He had 705 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in 2020 compared to Brown’s 1,099 yards and eight touchdowns respectively. He also added another 168 yards on 17 punt returns.
One could argue he’s the more versatile of the pair. No doubt a big reason he appealed to the Chicago Bears in the first place. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compared him to Russell Gage who is coming off the best season of his young career in Atlanta with 746 yards and four touchdowns. Gage too was a 6th round pick who was overlooked due to a more celebrated teammate at LSU in D.J. Chark.
If Newsome can follow the same path, then the Bears have something.
His early connection with Fields could be the key. The two started communicating even before the draft was over. Since then they seem to have worked hard at learning to get on the same page. The results are promising. This could end up carrying into training camp. Especially since both will be lower on the depth chart. At least at the beginning. Newsome could figure into what might be a heated competition for the starting slot receiver job this summer.