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USATSI

Justin Fields is headed to the Jets after agreeing Monday to a two-year, $40 million deal, including $30 million guaranteed. He could be a surprise No. 1 Fantasy quarterback this season.

Last year, Fields started the first six games with the Steelers and got Pittsburgh off to a 4-2 start before being benched in favor of Russell Wilson. For the season, Fields passed for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, and he rushed for 289 yards and five touchdowns. If you project his six starts over a full season then he would have had 3,133 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns and three interceptions and 819 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

In his six games as a starter, Fields had four outings with at least 19.9 Fantasy points, and he averaged 24.5 points in his final four games before losing his job. That's impressive, and Fields will likely be drafted with a late-round pick in one-quarterback leagues and a mid-round selection in Superflex and two-quarterback formats.

Fields averaged 20.2 Fantasy points per game with the Bears in 2023. And he averaged 22.0 Fantasy points per game in 2022 when he rushed for 1,143 yards, which made him one of three quarterbacks in NFL history who have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson (twice).

We'll see how much freedom Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand give Fields, but there's immense Fantasy upside here, which makes Fields a sleeper. And, hopefully, Fields can connect on a high level with Garrett Wilson.

In 2024, Wilson was the No. 21 PPR receiver at 14.8 points per game. He had six games with at least 16.3 PPR points, and he was No. 4 in the NFL with 154 targets.

Wilson had to share the field with Davante Adams for the second half of 2024 after he was traded from the Raiders to the Jets, and Adams was reunited with Aaron Rodgers in New York. This season, Wilson is the receiver with the quarterback connection since he played at Ohio State with Fields.

In 2020, Fields' last season for the Buckeyes, he helped Wilson catch 43 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns in eight games. In 2019, Wilson had 30 catches for 432 yards and five touchdowns with Fields in 14 games.

Fields isn't the ideal quarterback to help Wilson's Fantasy outlook, but he remains a high-end No. 2 receiver in all leagues worth drafting in Round 3. In 2023 with the Bears, Fields helped D.J. Moore catch 96 passes for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns on 136 targets, and hopefully Wilson can do something similar -- if not more.

There isn't another Fantasy receiver of significance for the Jets right now, but they should be looking to add someone either in free agency or the NFL Draft. As for Breece Hall, Fields joining the Jets is a slight downgrade for his Fantasy value.

The positive is that Fields should open rushing lanes for Hall, who had a down season in 2024 with 15.1 PPR points per game after averaging 17.1 PPR points in 2023. But Fields isn't going to help Hall in the passing game, and his reception total (133 catches over the past two seasons) should take a hit.

I still like Hall as a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues, but the earliest he should be drafted is Round 3. We'll see if Fields can help the Jets offense score more touchdowns, and then maybe Hall will improve on the five rushing touchdowns he had in 2024.

Fields is going to be fun for Fantasy managers in 2025, and he should be someone to target on Draft Day given his upside. I'm hopeful he'll do great things for Wilson and Hall, but there's reason to be skeptical.

Still, given the talent for both, Fields will hopefully lean on Wilson and Hall enough that they perform as high-end Fantasy starters in 2025. And we'll see who else comes to New York to help the Jets as they start fresh with a new quarterback this season.