Justin Fields (and Others!) Approve of the Bears’ First-Round Pick
There will be plenty of talk about who is winning and losing on NFL Draft weekend. But forget winning and losing for a moment. Do you realize who is *THRIVING* right now?
The Chicago Bears offense as a whole!
Primarily, quarterback Justin Fields comes to mind. Because in taking Tennessee right tackle Darnell Wright with the 10th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Bears gave Fields a new big body to protect him on Sundays. And Fields let his appreciation be known:
Fields has been sacked 91 times in two seasons as a pro. Including a league-leading 55 times in 2022. That’s a high number, to be sure. One that could’ve been higher had Fields not missed one game due to an injury and sat out the season finale due to (essentially) load management. So of course Fields was going to geek out about the Bears taking an offensive lineman. He’s probably been blowing up Poles’ phone asking “have we drafted a lineman yet?” every day between the end of the regular season and draft night.
And to think, Fields isn’t the only offensive player signing off on the deal:
Naturally, Khalil Herbert is going to love the pick. I bet Herbert is already doing the math on how many yards he’ll rush for behind Wright in 2023. Last year, Herbert’s 5.7 yards per carry was the most among running backs who played enough to qualify for the rushing title. Upgrading the pass-blocking is important, but fortifying an already good run-blocking offense is a nice perk Wright brings to the table.
As for Mooney’s co-sign, I love when players of the same name support one another. How could I not? I just spent the week gassing up Athletics prospect Luis Medina, who made his MLB pitching debut this week. Those of us lucky enough to share the Luis Medina name have to support each other. We’re a rare breed. And I imagine you’d do the same for your name twin.
I’m so glad that Bears fans in attendance like the Wright pick. Otherwise, that would’ve made for a really awkward video share from the team’s social media squad. But they seem to give it their approval based on this round of applause:
Crisis averted!
Now, some more tweets that made me feel warm and fuzzy about the pick:
That was a nice collection of different perspectives loving the Bears pick. You’ve got the analysis from Louis Riddick — a former player and front-office exec. And then insight from Brandon Thorn, who is the online authority when it comes to assessing offensive line play. And then we’ve got some new-fangled metrics that suggest the Bears did well with their pick.
In the end, the Bears offensive line is better today than it was at this time last year. Which, to me, means the Bears are better than they were at this time last year. That is no small feat. We’ll take it!
