It’s clear that the quarterback prizes of the 2024 NFL Draft are USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
But for teams drafting outside of the top eight picks, which is the range in which all three are projected to be taken, there may be a cheaper alternative – one who’s more of a proven commodity in the NFL already: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields.
In his latest mailbag, SI.com’s Albert Breer suggested that Fields’ trade value might actually be a lot lower than what was initially reported, making him a prime target for the QB-needy teams who will miss out on 2024’s “big three.”
“I don’t think [Fields is] going to fetch [Chicago] a first-round pick,” Breer wrote. “I’ve talked to several people around the league, and most of them place his value at a Day 2 pick, but they didn’t rule out that price rising if multiple teams are interested and get into a bidding war.”
A second-round pick is a drop in the bucket compared to what teams like the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints – who all draft between pick Nos. 8 and 14 – would have to pay to move up into the top three to grab Williams, Maye or Daniels.
Conversely, the lower asking price would allow any team interested in Fields to still have its first-round pick at its disposal, allowing it to still select a premier top-15-caliber player while securing its QB of the future.
While Fields remains a little rough around the edges, he did show solid improvement from 2022 to 2023. The 24-year-old signal caller averaged more passing yards per game (149.5 in 2022 to 197.1 in 2023) with a better completion percentage (60.4 to 61.4) and passer rating (85.2 to 86.3), plus a lower interception percentage (3.5 to 2.4) and sack percentage (14.7 to 10.6).
Many will argue that despite not playing a down in the NFL, Williams, Maye and Daniels all more upside as elite-level QBs. In the right system with an offensive coordinator that knows how to use him, though, Fields could finally reach the potential scouts raved about when the Bears traded up to take him 11th overall in 2021.