Urban Meyer breaks down Justin Fields' chances at success with Chicago Bears

Urban Meyer made it known the Chicago Bears should keep Justin Fields and trade the No. 1 overall pick. So far so good.

Meyer made the point of the Bears stockpiling assets and drafting a solid offense around the former Ohio State quarterback. Easier said than done, but it’s been done so far in the NFL with recent top selections.

Meyer broke it down on Urban’s Take with Tim May.

“Well, I’ve been asked the question: does Chicago trade their first round pick or do they trade Justin,” Meyer said. “And I’m like, I did not coach Justin Fields, I was there when we recruited him, but I watched him up close and personal in practice. You know, his leadership. I’d keep Justin Fields and surround him with a great team. And I can go back to when Alex Smith was the No. 1  pick and played for the 49ers and the 49ers were terrible.

“Alex Smith was taking the brunt because they were terrible on defense, terrible on offense, terrible on special teams. And now you’re hearing this quarterback is a bust. You gotta build that roster.”

Meyer compared it to the Joe Burrow situation, who was ironically coached by Meyer briefly at Ohio State before his transfer to LSU.

“I would start a little bit like with the Cincinnati Bengals did,” Meyer said. “Joe Burrow, had an okay year and then also they got JaMarr Chase, started loading up with great receivers around him and Joe Burrow, as long as he’s got great receivers, who’s gonna stop that guy. You know? So once again, I know this conversation is shifting a little bit but to me, it’s all about the group of players that are catching the ball.”

Heck, Fields petitioned the Bears to draft former Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to begin beefing up the pass catching corps.

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“I’m going with my man Jaxon Smith-Njigba,” Fields said of what he would do in the first round. “I’ve seen him in action. I’ve seen how he can separate himself like that and you know his body control is crazy and you know, he didn’t get to play this past year. He didn’t get to show what he could do. 

“So, you know, I’m hoping he falls to us somehow. But we do have some help that we need in the trenches. So you know, a lot of people are talking about us taking Jalen Carter or Will Anderson Jr., so we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. So I’m guessing we’ll get one of those guys and you know, maybe some guys in free agency but one guy that I would love to have is Jaxon Smith-Njigba.”

The Bears followed Meyer’s suggestion on Friday, trading down to the No. 9 overall pick after receiving a monster package from the Carolina Panthers that included D.J. Moore.