Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace finally drafted his quarterback in 2017. Mitch Trubisky is his guy. That was evident from the ridiculous lengths he went to in order to get him. The massive deception campaign. The trade up from #3 to #2. Pace wasn’t messing around. He was going to get Trubisky come hell or high water. With that said, that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly stopped thinking about adding talent to the position.
Pace has said on more than one occasion that he’d like to draft a quarterback every year. There’s plenty of logic behind that idea. It’s never a bad thing to have talent and depth at the most important position in sports. Not only would the Bears have a secure backup position if Trubisky got hurt, they’d also have potential trade bait a couple seasons down the road.
It’s a method that teams like the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots have put to great use in the past. Now the Bears want to give it a shot. Despite having Trubisky they’ve remained active in the quarterback market ahead of the draft. Another new name has just surfaced that they’re eyeing carefully.
Lamar Jackson has the Chicago Bears attention at the combine
Louisville star Lamar Jackson is a busy man. He’s doing everything in his power to convince teams that his future in the NFL is at quarterback. This may sound odd given the phenomenal numbers he put up with the Cardinals including 9,043 yards passing and 69 touchdowns. It seems the buzz going around is many don’t see him as a QB and wish to try him out as a wide receiver. This is something Jackson continues to resist strongly.
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It’s not clear whether the Bears share this viewpoint. Nonetheless, it hasn’t stopped them from meeting with the former Heisman winner.
Lamar Jackson has met at combine with Bills, Bears, Steelers, Giants, Dolphins, Eagles.
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) March 2, 2018
Jackson is considered one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks to come out of college in years. He’s been widely compared to Michael Vick thanks to his freakish athleticism and speed. This belies his better-than-average arm that has made some impressive throws over the course of his career.
What makes Jackson so interesting for the Bears rests on who their new offensive coordinator is. Mark Helfrich was one of the architects of the famed Oregon offenses between 2009 and 2015. They were often nearly unstoppable because it helped maximize the effectiveness of quarterbacks who could run.
Jackson would’ve been the epitome of their type of QB. So it makes perfect sense the Bears would be watching him carefully. As things stand it looks like he’s a favorite to go somewhere in the first two rounds. However, things change quickly in the draft process. If by some chance he falls to the fourth round, where Chicago has two picks, Pace may be tempted to pull the trigger.
