Let Fields run the football
Fields isn’t a super-accurate passer but he is very fast, so it seems obvious that adding designed quarterback runs into the playbook would be a smart decision. It’s something that you hoped to avoid with Mahomes under center because the risk of injury was so high — every time he took off scrambling, my Chiefs fan wife would visibly grimace — but the calculus is much different now with Fields.
We’re talking about a guy who led the NFL in yards per rushing attempt in 2022 and has finished with over five yards per carry in four of his five NFL seasons. His legs are a weapon; his arm isn’t a liability in the same way it was back in Chicago, but you aren’t winning football games on the back of Fields’ arm.
Last season with the New York Jets, Fields led all quarterbacks in designed runs per game at 4.1, and adding in scrambles saw him finish with 7.9 carries per game, good for second at the position. And look, you might say “well, uhh, the Jets stunk with Fields, so why would the Chiefs use this same approach,” which is a fair thing to say. The key difference is that in Kansas City, Reid will be the one designing these plays for Fields. In New York, it was Tanner Engstrand. There’s a big difference there. I trust Reid to actually take advantage of the thing that Fields does really, really well.