Finding a quarterback is the endgame for the Chicago Bears. This much has been made clear. Head coach Matt Nagy told insider Mike Silver as much. The team feels they are a QB away from truly competing for a Super Bowl title. That is why most expect the team to be aggressive in their pursuit of one. Thus far the signs have indicated they’d prefer to land a top veteran of some kind. They made a run at Matthew Stafford already and expectations are they’ll be in the mix for Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott, and Derek Carr as well.
However, history shows that the odds of them landing any of those names aren’t high. It’s much more likely either none of those guys move or another team with more resources acquires them. This is why it’s possible the Bears may have to shift their focus to the NFL draft at some point. Yet even that scenario comes with problems. Chicago isn’t exactly sitting in prime QB real estate with the 20th overall pick.
The big fear is what may happen come April.
Some experts fear the top four QBs on the board could be gone before the top 10 picks conclude. This would mean the Bears either have to settle for maybe the fifth-best QB falling to them at #20 or they’re forced to go with the best player available and try to find a QB on day two. Is it really going to be that bad? Not everybody seems to think so.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, one of their top draft analysts released his first mock draft of the year and his quarterbacks layout was a little more conservative. After having two guys (Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson) go at #1 and #2 respectively, the next QB doesn’t go until the 12th pick to San Francisco (Trey Lance), and the fourth until #15 to New England (Justin Fields).
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Chicago Bears would love that sort of outcome
Why? It means they’d have a realistic opportunity to trade up from the 20th spot to try landing one of those quarterbacks. Moving up was always going to be a discussion for GM Ryan Pace if the draft was the way they go. However, going from #20 to say #5 or #6 would be a significant price tag to pay. One the Bears aren’t exactly equipped for. Not without mortgaging more of their future in the process.
However, a move from #20 to #11 or #13 would be a significantly lower cost. It would be a matter of determining which quarterback they’d do it for. Both Lance and Fields have a ton of physical gifts from size to arm strength and mobility. They can throw accurate passes from the pocket and have performed well in big games. If one had to guess, the more likely target for the Chicago Bears would be Fields. He is more of a natural pocket passer at this point, though he still needs work on quickening his field processor.
Pace and Nagy can only hope it won’t come to that.
A rookie quarterback is unlikely to deliver what they need most in 2021. That is a winning season. Both are on the hot seat this year. Another 8-8 finish or worse could end up costing their jobs. This is why veteran QBs have taken priority in their plans thus far. If it comes to the draft though, this sort of development would be in their best interests.
