Bears coach Matt Nagy compares 'Similar' traits between Justin Fields, Patrick Mahomes

Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy discussed several “similarities” that he sees between former Ohio State QB Justin Fields and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

Nagy, of course, was an assistant on Kansas City’s coaching staff when Mahomes was a rookie.

“Their personalities, football-wise, football IQ, all of that stuff is very similar on that side,” Nagy told reporters, via NBC Sports. “Their actual personalities are a little bit different but that’s the beauty of life. We all have different personalities. I just think that right now for Justin, the biggest thing is to make sure that he’s continuing to just really listen and just get better, and then probably just keep asking the right questions, and I think he’s doing that more and more as he feels comfortable.”

Despite Fields’ high draft slot, the Bears are expected to be patient with Fields. Mahomes sat behind veteran Alex Smith for nearly his entire rookie season with the Chiefs.

Nagy said this week that — barring injury— Andy Dalton will be the team’s starter in Week 1. Nick Foles could also receive consideration if the team feels that Fields isn’t ready yet.

“…As the depth chart goes this is where we are at with Andy as the 1, with Justin as the 2 and Nick as the 3,” Nagy said. “But all three of those guys know that you need to produce, you need to play well, you need to compete, you need to be the best quarterback you can be and then it’s going to be really pretty easy for us to see who that is and how that goes.”

The Bears traded up to No. 11 overall to take Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s coming off an excellent season at Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to the National Championship game. He threw six touchdowns vs. Clemson in the semifinals.

Chicago opens its season on Sept. 12 vs. the Los Angeles Rams.