Why PFF says Fields, Jenkins were huge draft steals

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Praise continues to pile on for Ryan Pace and the Bears in the days following the 2021 draft. We've seen the A+ grades and the writeups, and now Pro Football Focus says the Bears got two of the biggest steals of the weekend in Justin Fields and Teven Jenkins.

Let's start with the first rounder, Fields.

“Fields should have been the San Francisco 49ers‘ pick at No. 3, but then he was inexplicably passed over by many other quarterback-needy teams,” wrote Anthony Treash. “Bears general manager Ryan Pace took advantage of the mistakes of others and finally got the Windy City the franchise quarterback it has been longing for.

“According to PFF’s wins above average metric (WAA), Fields has been the most valuable quarterback in college football over the last two seasons. He made plays both through the air and on the ground, posting a PFF grade of 91.5 in 2019 and 93.5 in 2020, both of which were top-five marks among FBS quarterbacks. He holds onto the ball too long against blitzes and does take more sacks than one would like, but his arm talent, accuracy, athleticism, judgment and rushing ability are extraordinary.

“Fields may already be the best quarterback this franchise has ever had, and we haven’t even seen him play at Soldier Field yet. Cheers to you, Bears fans — the wait is finally over.”

PFF had Fields as the No. 3 player on their big board, but the Bears got him at 11. Obviously, that's great value. But you could argue their second-round pick was even better because PFF had a first-round grade on Jenkins.

“Jenkins looked like a school bully on a playground at times for Oklahoma State,” said Treash. “No one on the Pokes’ schedule could match his upper-body strength, as the 36 reps of 225 pounds he threw up on his pro day (98th percentile among tackles historically) suggests. Jenkins also ranked first in the Power Five in negatively graded run block rate.

“He has that nastiness traditional football guys drool over. He may not have supreme length, nor is he the most fleet of foot, but Jenkins is going to be a monstrous addition to his Chicago offensive line that had a clear hole at right tackle. He is going to put guys into the turf from Day 1 in the NFL ranks.”

After the Bears cut Charles Leno Jr. the bigger hole is truly at left tackle. No matter where Jenkins plays, national consensus says the Bears got two players who could be impact players for a decade or more.

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