Pro Football Focus names the Chicago Bears' 3 best players entering the 2022 season
Pro Football Focus writer Ben Linsey took a shot this week at naming the three best players on each NFL roster entering the 2022 season. His choices for the Chicago Bears seem fair, even though he left off a major name. Linsey didn't include quarterback Justin Fields on his list. Instead, he went with linebacker […]
Pro Football Focus writer Ben Linsey took a shot this week at naming the three best players on each NFL roster entering the 2022 season.
His choices for the Chicago Bears seem fair, even though he left off a major name.
Linsey didn't include quarterback Justin Fields on his list. Instead, he went with linebacker Roquan Smith, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
Fields and edger rusher Robert Quinn "just missed" Linsey's list.
The Bears were one of the more challenging teams in the NFL to do this exercise for, and it wasn’t because there was an abundance of options to choose from. Chicago will be hoping that the three players above — along with Justin Fields — are at the core of its rebuild.
Fields showed enough high-end ability to be excited about his future in Chicago, delivering top-five finishes in big-time throw rate and positively-graded play rate. However, there were too many negatives as a rookie to include him above after just one season. Fields will be tasked with cutting down on the negatives with one of the worst supporting casts in the NFL in 2022.
The interesting thing about Linsey's picks is that Johnson isn't even running with the first-team defense during OTAs. Instead, it's rookie Kyler Gordon getting those reps.
Now, this probably doesn't mean much — Johnson will likely be the guy by the time training camp rolls around. But it still makes the selection of Johnson over Fields a bit confusing.
The Bears need Fields to prove Linsey wrong. In fact, if he doesn't, it'll be very bad news for Chicago because it will mean the Bears are still in quarterback purgatory.
Featured image via Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
