The Chicago Bears won the division in 2018 thanks to a terrific defense and promising pairing between quarterback Mitch Trubisky and head coach Matt Nagy. Unfortunately, the team had no way to build on their success in the 2019 offseason because they had no 1st or 2nd round picks due to trades. Such will not be the case this time around. Chicago won the division and a playoff game under Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, but will have all its important picks heading into the spring. That begs the question.
Have the Bears been in a similar situation before?
After careful examination, one year stands out: 1991. The setup was similar. Chicago had just won the division the year prior, aided by an excellent 1990 draft class led by safety Mark Carrier. They looked like a team that was poised to carry its 1980s success into the next decade. All they needed was to continue drafting well. Sadly, the Bears completely botched their opportunity that spring.
Stan Thomas, their 1st round pick (#22 overall), was an outright bust. Chris Zorich came in the 2nd round. He didn’t become much more than a decent starter. Most egregiously, the Bears took punter Chris Gardocki in the 3rd round. He had four forgettable years in Chicago before having success elsewhere.
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Just like that, the Bears had derailed what momentum they had. After a solid 1991 season, things fell apart the next year, and they soon entered a rebuild.
The Chicago Bears must not get cute with this 2026 draft.
That is precisely what happened in 1991. Mike Ditka famously didn’t want to draft Thomas but was overruled by ownership. Gardocki was another in a long line of lessons about not drafting specialists. Meanwhile, the Bears could’ve just done the boring thing for three rounds with names like Ted Washington (4x Pro Bowl NT), Phil Hansen (61 career sacks), and Ed McCaffrey (Pro Bowl WR), and been in great shape. This is why having cool heads at the top is so important. To draft well later in the 1st round, you need your decision-makers to be sensible.
That is where this Chicago Bears team likely differs from that one 34 years ago. Johnson and Poles seem like a far more cohesive partnership than Ditka and Michael McCaskey were. While this doesn’t guarantee the team will crush the upcoming draft, it should improve their odds at finding quality talent. You can also safely assume they will stick to taking the best players on their board, which is not what happened in ’91.
