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Another Gloomy Justin Fields Projection

ESPN's Mike Clay doesn't see Justin Fields making the kind of strides statistically that the Bears or their fans would like to see in 2022, whether it's because of the team struggling or Field simply not being good enough.

Justin Fields will barely throw more touchdown passes than interceptions this season, according to the ESPN projection made by Mike Clay.

The projections differ greatly from those made by FanNation's BearDigest earlier this summer, especially for Fields, although many of the methods for arriving at the projection are similar.

Clay sees Fields completing 18 touchdown passes while throwing 16 interceptions, and ranks him 20th for fantasy football purposes with 252 points.

He did have Fields throwing for 3,635 yards, which would be the most by a Bears passer since Jay Cutler threw for 3,659 in 2015, a year when the Bears won five games.

Clay's figures for Fields would give him an 82.63 passer rating on the year, an improvement but disappointing nonetheless. Fields would break 7.0 yards per pass attempt but barely (7.04).

Clay doesn't see 1,000 rushing yards for David Montgomery but does have wide receiver Darnell Mooney gaining more than 1,000 yards receiving again except with fewer catches than last year at 76.

The projection for receiving has rookie Velus Jones Jr. making a huge contribution for a third-round rookie at 612 yards for 50 catches, far more than FanNation forecasts. He has Byron Pringle making only 36 receptions, which is seven less than last year in Kansas City when

He's not very optimistic about N'Keal Harry making an impact, with just nine receptions forecasted for 108 yards and a TD.

One player he does see better things for is tight end Cole Kmet. At least when it comes to getting into the end zone, Clay sees improvement coming. Kmet should get four touchdowns says this forecast, which is a drastic improvement over a 2021 without one TD. Kmet is seen as catching 56 passes for 602 yards, a slight dip from last year overall.

Justin Fields Projection Comparison

ESPN vs. FanNation

AttemptsCompletionsYardsTDsINTs

ESPN Projection

516

325

3,635

18

16

FanNation Projection

466

298

3,448

21

11

FanNation Justin Fields Projection for 2022

ESPN Justin Fields Projection for 2022

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven