The wait, speculation, and criticism are finally over. After hearing analyst after analyst cite sources about Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields’ fall down the board in the NFL draft, he finally has a team. It may not have happened as early as many anticipated, but the Chicago Bears decided to be bold and move up nine spots to No. 11 for a chance to land what they hope is the Windy City’s quarterback of the future.
Believe it or not, Fields is the highest-drafted quarterback in Ohio State history. And generally speaking, when a team goes after a signal-called in the first round of the draft — especially in the top fifteen — the thought process is that he may get a chance to start right away.
But that’s not the plan according to Bears general manager Ryan Pace. The team signed Andy Dalton to a one-year contract in March, and he’s likely to get the first crack at starting this fall according to comments Pace made to the media on Friday.
“Andy is our starter,” Pace said. “And we’re going to have a really good plan in place to develop Justin, and do what’s best for our organization to win games.”
#Bears GM Ryan Pace: "Andy (Dalton) is our starter and we are going to have a really good plan in place to develop Justin (Fields)."
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) April 30, 2021
It’s a template that Pace has used before. When he was the GM at Kansas City, the Chiefs selected Patric Mahomes No. 10 overall in the 2017 NFL draft. He sat and learned behind Alex Smith before getting the keys to the offense the following season. Mahomes is now a superstar in the league and all over commercials on television sets and streaming devices near you.
“Getting him (Fields) is one thing, but for us to surround him and develop him is the other thing. You can draft the players, but you have to develop them the right way,” Pace continued. “The process, and how we do that is important. We’ve got a good plan in place to surround him with the right resources — to develop him the right way.”
It sounds like a great plan, but we’ve all been around this game a long time. Both head coach Matt Nagy and Pace might be auditioning to keep their jobs this upcoming season. And if push comes to shove with the team not performing, Fields might get the nod eventually. When pressed on Fields having an opportunity to win the starting job, Pace did leave the door ajar just a wee bit.
“I think we just gotta let it play out,” Pace said. “It’ll be a daily process, a daily evaluation — but we’re excited to let that play out.”
In other words, stay tuned.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
