The Chicago Bears don’t appear to be leaving anything to chance. GM Ryan Pace said in his recent press conference that one of the most impressive things about this 2021 draft class was the depth of the 1st round quarterbacks. It is for this reason that many believe the Bears are a heavy favorite to move up the board from #20 to grab one of them. So far three are expected to go in the first three picks. The remaining two aren’t expected to get outside the top 10.
Given the Bears’ obvious need at the position, they’re an easy target for such speculation. However, Pace also said that the team must be prepared for any eventuality. That includes one a lot of fans don’t want to contemplate. The idea they won’t be able to get one of those top five quarterbacks. Like it or not, this is a strong possibility. Wanting to trade up and being able to are two different things. It is for this reason that Pace, head coach Matt Nagy, and the rest of scouting and coaching staffs have been putting in a ton of work on secondary options according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Specifically, the three QBs expected to go on Day 2.
Three quarterbacks likely will get drafted in Rounds 2 and 3, and a handful of teams have done extra legwork on them — a list that includes the #Bears, #Vikings, #Saints and #Bucs. @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/CcPhUOVI1U
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2021
Those three include Davis Mills of Stanford, Kellen Mond of Texas A&M, and Kyle Trask of Florida. Each has enough positive traits to warrant consideration as a future NFL starter. However, they also come with red flags.
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Mills has good size and probably the best arm of the three, able to make any throw in the playbook. He also has multiple knee injuries on his record along with just 11 total college starts.
Mond is the most experienced by a wide margin, having started since his freshman year. He’s tough, efficient, and intelligent along with some exciting athleticism. The problem is his production doesn’t really stand out and he has a glaring issue with his deep ball.
Trask was the most productive of the three, throwing 68 touchdowns in the past two seasons at Florida. He’s got 6’5 size and throws an accurate ball. Unfortunately, he also isn’t overly mobile and doesn’t have the strongest arm.
Chicago Bears know they must tread carefully
Recent history doesn’t offer a kindly view of 2nd or 3rd round quarterbacks. Since 2015, only one of the 12 names taken managed to last beyond one year as the starter. That was Jacoby Brissett. Not since Derek Carr in 2014 has somebody emerged from that range who was a legitimately good player. That is the sort of risks the Bears will be facing if they wait until then to get their quarterback.
As Pelissero said, there is one possibility to consider. If Chicago likes one of those three enough, they could move up from the 52nd spot in the 2nd round to the bottom of the 1st. The idea is to get that quarterback onto a rookie contract that will feature a 5th-year option. This would enable them to control the player for a slightly longer affordable window. Knowing Pace, this seems like something he’d definitely consider.
It will be fascinating to see what happens.
Expectations are that things will really start to get interesting around the second half of the top 10. If one or two quarterbacks are still available around that time, then the Chicago Bears could be among the teams that try to make a jump up. If that doesn’t happen, then it will become clear what their aim will likely be. To take the best player available at #20 and look to grab their quarterback later on.
