Ask around most of the national media and the opinions rarely differ. They feel Justin Fields is in store for a difficult 2022 season. He has to start over in a new offensive system under Luke Getsy. He also lost multiple key contributors like Allen Robinson and James Daniels to free agency. Replacements such as Lucas Patrick and Byron Pringle haven’t moved the needle in their eyes. To most, Fields doesn’t have much help around him.
The quarterback himself disagrees. He thinks several players on the roster are being underestimated. As for Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, he thinks the one being underestimated is Fields. He went back and evaluated the data from last season. Most people tend to view Fields’ rookie year in its entirety. Doing so doesn’t offer a favorable picture. However, that changes when seeing it in two halves. It was here that Treash came away with some intriguing data.
“Fields finished his rookie campaign with a 64.2 PFF grade that ranked 24th among qualifying quarterbacks and second among rookies. And over Fields’ last five starts, his PFF grade spiked to 76.9, a top-10 mark among qualifiers.
Fields, who clocked a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, produced the fourth-most runs of 10-plus yards (14) among quarterbacks in 2021. He turned several broken plays into positive outcomes thanks to his scrambling ability. Fields’ comfortability on those plays only improved as the season went on. Across his final five starts, he earned an NFL-leading 90.5 passing grade outside of the pocket…
…Fields also ranked near the top of the position in delivering big-time throws (i.e. PFF’s highest-graded passes) — a rare feat for a rookie. He finished with a 6.1% big-time throw rate, tying for the second-highest in the NFL with Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.”
Justin Fields had more high-level throws on MNF than any rookie has had in a single game this year pic.twitter.com/9y6JvJFLw7
— Anthony Treash (@PFF_Anthony) November 9, 2021
Justin Fields was playing competent football in crappy circumstances.
Think about this. Between Halloween last year and the end of the 2021 season, Fields finished with an 84.0 passer rating. Andy Dalton, the supposed wily veteran that had years more experience, had one of 74.8. Fields was outperforming a former three-time Pro Bowler and was doing it in a nonsensical offense that wasn’t working to his strengths. Not enough people are talking about that. It is probably because he didn’t get a chance to finish the season due to injury setbacks.
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Much of what Justin Fields accomplished got washed away by a dismal end to the season where it was obvious the old regime of Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy were on their way out. That left the quarterback in limbo as new GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus arrived. They immediately made him the unquestioned starter and did what they could in the offseason to find some help.
It wasn’t ideal, but a more sensible offensive system combined with better coaching should greatly help him this coming year. His number may not be star-making, but it is reasonable to think he’ll be better than many predict.
