There are few things that make a draft more exciting than an unpredictable owner. While head coaches and GMs typically make the big decisions, that all goes out the window if an owner gets directly involved. Nobody can say no to them for obvious reasons. Jerry Jones is notoriously involved with ever Dallas Cowboys draft decision. Jimmy Haslam, Jeff Lurie, and Dan Snyder also have such reputations. Yet the biggest wild card of the 2023 off-season, at least from the Chicago Bears‘ point of view, is Jim Irsay.
The Indianapolis Colts owner has had a wild past few months. He fired head coach Frank Reich midseason and hired Jeff Saturday straight out of the analyst chair to become his replacement. Then, rather than staying committed to his decision, Irsay signed off on firing Saturday in favor of Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as the new head coach. Where it gets juicy is when Irsay was asked why Steichen was the guy. His quote sent clear shockwaves through the draft community.
The Chicago Bears must’ve laughed so much at that.
Draft season is about misdirection. The less other teams know about your true intentions, the better. Irsay basically threw that out the window when he stated the Colts’ plan is to draft a quarterback, and Bryce Young of Alabama might be their main target. Yes, this could be a misdirection on his part, but given his recent track record of unpredictability, that seems unlikely. It means every team picking behind the Colts at #4 now understand they must get to at least the #3 spot to land a quarterback they covet. GM Chris Ballard knows that too, which in turn means he might have to move up if he wants to get the QB Irsay wants.
This is a perfect development for the Chicago Bears. It should kick the trade market for the #1 overall pick up another notch. GM Ryan Poles doesn’t even have to get creative with ways to drum up business. Irsay is doing the work for him. Houston is also widely expected to take a quarterback. If Young is the hot name both teams want, then the Bears can basically play the two against each other. If other teams get involved, so much the better. The higher the demand goes, the higher the price tag becomes to secure the pick.
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Ryan Poles’ ego will get the best of him — and they’ll “both” be “absolutely blown away” by Bryce Young.
Fanboys will be suicidal — until.the new QB#1 takes the Bears to the playoffs.
JF1 knows that it’s coming — the Chase Claypool failure sealed his fate.
If I were the one to decide for the Bears, I would take Bryce Young, QB as first pick. Yeah, I know so many things about Fields, but he’s not really a QB, more of a RB. My opinion and if you don’t like it then that is fine. Don’t argue with me, debate with me.
theres going to be more than one desired qb..i’d say that teams won’t mortgage their picks for one specific qb…i don’t believe it will become a bidding war…da bears just need to get an extra 1st rounder, and get one of the d lineman they really want, plus maybe another few picks… in my very humble opinion…
That’s odd. All this Jim Irsay bashing but the Bears are below 500 since Irsay took over the Colts, and the Colts are with the best teams at .575. The Bears are at oooh. . . . .469. Yeah, I’ll take the crazy, fun owner who knows more about the business and history of football than than 20 other owners put together.
Perhaps the dumbest article ever since everyone inside and outside the organization knows they will draft a QB