2021 NFL Draft: Bears Draft Ohio State QB In First Round

Source: Gregory Shamus / Getty

Ohio State QB Justin Fields is headed to The Windy City. In Round 1 of the NFL Draft, Fields was selected 11th by the Chicago Bears. A Heisman Trophy finalist and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Fields made quite an impression with The Bears.

“This guy’s toughness on a scale of 1 to 10’s an 11, and you just love that about him,” Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace said after Thursday night’s draft.

“We feel really fortunate to be able to get Justin in the area of the draft we were able to select him. The excitement throughout our whole building, you can feel it as I walked down here tonight,” Pace said. “We knew there was gonna be a sweet spot for us to be in that quarterback world, and this area was kind of it. So it just required a little bit of patience to get to that point.”

The Bears made a draft-day trade with the New York Giants, going from No. 20 to No. 11 overall to position themselves toward a chance at Fields. Chicago sent the No. 20 overall pick and a fifth-rounder this year (No. 164 overall) in addition to 2022 first- and fourth-round picks to secure its quarterback of the future.

Fields expressed excitement toward the next chapter of his football career.

“What’s up Chicago?” He said in a video shared online. “Justin Fields here.. excited to be a part of the organization and I’m ready to get to work. Bear Down.”

While Andy Dalton is still the team’s head quarterback, Fields is confident what it takes to become a franchise star.

“You know, just the way I carry myself, just the way I care about the game, the grit I have, the determination I have to be great,” He said when asked by reporters why he believes he is an ideal fit for Chicago. “I think nobody has the story that I have. So just everything inside of me, just wanting to be a great quarterback, wanting to be a franchise quarterback. And just me dreaming for this moment my whole life. So I just think all of those intangibles, my work ethic and all that together will of course be different for me.”

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