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Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields had a tremendous breakout season in 2023, becoming just the third-ever signal-caller to top 1,000 yards rushing. He joined the elite group of Lamar Jackson and Michael Vick as the only quarterbacks to do so. That's pretty good company, to say the least.
However, Chicago posted a 3-14 record – earning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Fields was spectacular and cemented himself as a top fantasy quarterback, but if he can't improve the Bears' passing attack and win games in the weak NFC, his future has plenty of uncertainty.
How does Fields stack up among quarterbacks in dynasty leagues and should he be considered a buy, sell, or hold? Let's dive in.
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Justin Fields 2022 Season
Through the first five weeks of the 2022 NFL season, Fields averaged just 11.7 fantasy points per game. He completed just 55.7 percent of his passes (49 of 88) for 679 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and four interceptions and scored fewer total fantasy points than Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, and plenty of other mediocre QBs from the 2022 campaign. Then, he would finally flash his upside.
In Week 6, Fields still struggled as a passer, throwing for just 190 yards on 14 completions, but he rushed for 88 yards. In Weeks 7-10, he was the No. 1 overall player in fantasy football – producing a staggering 33.4 fantasy points per game. He racked up 620 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, two interceptions, 467 rushing yards, and five rushing scores over that stretch and immediately skyrocketed the "rest-of-season" and dynasty rankings.
His final passing statistics in 15 games were 2,242 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, and 11 interceptions with a 60.4 completion percentage. Sure, those aren't earth-shattering figures, but he showed promise after a horrific start. His rushing stats were eye-popping, though.
He surpassed Michael Vick for the second-most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season with 1,143 – trailing only Lamar Jackson's 1,206 rushing yards from 2019 – and found the end zone eight times on the ground. He finished as the QB6 overall and QB5 in fantasy points per game.
What is Fields Worth in Dynasty Leagues?
In superflex startup dynasty drafts, Fields is coming off the board in the late-first round. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts are all unanimously ranked ahead of him, but he could be as high as the dynasty QB4. Joe Burrow has a much clearer path to long-term success in fantasy football, but Fields' rushing upside makes the debate between the two a reasonable one. Beyond Burrow, there are decisions to be made between Fields and Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Trevor Lawrence.
After two seasons, Fields has a 5-20 career record and has completed just over 59 percent of his passes for 4,112 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. No matter how dominant he becomes running the ball, he won't have locked-in job security while the team continues to lose and his passing numbers remain mediocre.
However, he'll have a chance to take big strides as a passer now that former Carolina Panthers wide receiver DJ Moore is in town. The team traded the first overall pick for a package of first-rounders and the three-time 1,000-yard receiver. Darnell Mooney will slide into the more natural No. 2 role for Chicago, and tight end Cole Kmet should be entering his prime at the position that often takes time to develop.
The vision is for Moore to raise Fields' ceiling like Stefon Diggs did for Josh Allen, Tyreek Hill did for Tua Tagovailoa, and A.J. Brown did for Jalen Hurts. All three of those quarterbacks had plenty of question marks before their teams added bonafide number-one wide receivers, and we saw how it turned out for each of them.
That said, we can't expect the Bears to take a massive leap forward and look like the Eagles did last season. The offensive line will still likely be a bottom half of the league unit and Moore may not be the same caliber of wideout as Diggs, Hill, and Brown. All we know is Fields will have an adequate pass-catching group for the first time in his career, so it's make or break time for the former Ohio State Buckeye.
Ultimately, Fields' will see some kind of value spike or fall as the 2023 season rolls on. He'll either become at least a mid-level passer who wins games with his arm and approaches the likes of Hurts in dynasty value – or he'll fail to take the next step and see a major dip in next year's dynasty ADP. This is the same situation Jalen Hurts found himself in, but the Eagles were far more set up for success as he entered his third NFL season.
Justin Fields Recommendation
If you have Fields on your superflex dynasty roster, he feels like a hold at this point unless someone is willing to give up a quarterback in the same range. There's a real argument to be made that Fields' rushing success from 2022 is unsustainable, but if his passing figures see an uptick, he'll still likely be a top-seven dynasty QB. If your league mate who has Fields is looking to sell him, it's worth putting an offer on the table for a player who could potentially become a top-five asset in all of superflex dynasty.
In single-QB leagues, his upside makes him far more valuable respective to other signal-callers because it's easier to find serviceable QBs should Fields flop, but he can provide week-winning spike weeks from the QB spot that can be elusive in those formats. That said, it can be tough to trade for a ceiling-raising quarterback in those formats without giving up a highly valuable skill player.
Fields' buy-low window was slammed shut in the middle of the 2023 season, though, so he's most likely a hold-or-sell candidate heading into 2023.
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