NFL Exec Defends Justin Fields: Steelers QB 'Is A Dimension That' NFL 'Does Not Have'

Justin Fields is no longer the franchise quarterback for the Chicago Bears and is now fighting for playing time with Russell Wilson on the Pittsburgh Steelers, but not everyone in the NFL has given up on his potential.

Mike Sando of The Athletic published his annual list of quarterback tiers on Monday, which asks 50 NFL coaches and executives to anonymously place quarterbacks in tiers from Tier 1 (the best) to Tier 5 (the worst).

Fields checks in as a Tier 4 signal-caller, but some offered optimism.

"I can see people putting him as a 4, but if you have a good run game and he's part of that run game, you can win," an executive said. "I don't want to play him because of the way he can run the football. He is a dimension that this league does not have... Fast, strong, physical, tough. I would not give up on him."

A defensive coordinator added, "Fields is hard to go against. He can win you games if you play complementary football and you've got the run game going, you've got play-actions, keepers. I kind of want to give him a 3, but he ain't going to win you games dropping back."

There seemed to be some agreement that Chicago did not put him in the best position to succeed in terms of the weapons around him, the offensive line and the overall scheme. Still, there also wasn't enough consistency as a passer, which is why the franchise traded him to the Steelers and pivoted to Caleb Williams this offseason.

At his best, Fields is an electrifying runner who tallied 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground in 2022. That skill set can be a headache for opposing defensive coordinators, and there are surely some around the league who like to see Pittsburgh go with Wilson just so they don't have to worry about planning for it.

But the 25-year-old Fields will need to become a more consistent passer if he is ever going to live up to his full potential.

Perhaps Mike Tomlin and the Steelers coaching staff can help him unlock that.