Fans and the media are the only ones who are uncertain of what the Chicago Bears have planned for this upcoming draft. GM Ryan Pace has a long track record of being a wild card this time of year. Nobody can predict what he’s going to do or who he might target. The rampant rumor going around is Chicago could be looking to trade up from the 20th pick to secure a quarterback.
Albert Breer of the MMQB has heard much of the same. In fact, according to him other teams in the NFC North are getting the same sense. What makes it even more unusual is how quiet the Bears have been. There haven’t been many reports about them placing calls about moving up. Either they’re doing a great job of keeping it quiet, they’re waiting until the draft is about to begin, or the rumors are overblown.
This is why nobody can say for certain what they’ll do.
“One, rival teams believe they are lurking as a potential trade-up team. Two, as of a couple days ago, they hadn’t really started burning the phone lines up on that. So they could be in play, but they haven’t been yet. And they’ve certainly done their homework on the quarterbacks. GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy have seen Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Alabama’s Mac Jones and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance live.”
According to my own source, the Bears have their eyes fixed on Fields. They get the sense he has superstar potential. They also like Jones due to his intelligence and accuracy. Will either of them be available long enough for Chicago to move up? This is the pressing question. It’s relatively certain among insiders that Jones is the favorite to go #3 to San Francisco. If that holds true, Fields and Lance would be the two remaining.
The odds of them lasting much longer seem remote. General expectations are none of them will make it outside the top 10. This paints a clear picture of how high the Bears may have to get if they want their guy. If the opportunity doesn’t materialize? Their focus will shift to Day 2 options. Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network claims the team likes Davis Mills of Stanford. I was also told Kyle Trask of Florida made a strong impression as well.
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Chicago Bears have an additional question mark
Nobody knows if Pace and Nagy even have the authority to make that sort of jump. While George McCaskey did retain both men for 2021, he also made it clear they’re on a short leash. They’re expected to win this year. If that is the case, would he be willing to let them mortgage more of the team’s future in another calculated gamble on a quarterback? If so, that would send a clear signal the two men are safer than they appear.
If not? Then what was the point of keeping them? Having Pace and Nagy stick around only to handcuff them during the offseason in terms of what they can and can’t do makes no sense. McCaskey would’ve been better off just starting fresh. It isn’t clear if this is the case or not. A lot of people have a hard time believing they have the green light to make that sort of jump.
Then again, McCaskey made his faith in them pretty clear back in January.
Thus here we are. The Chicago Bears right back in the quarterback mix. Will Pace pull off another shocking jump up the board? That isn’t up to him. He will need favorable bounces in the top 10 and a team willing to make a deal. A lot of moving parts. That said, when this GM gets fixated on a player, he’s going to do whatever is necessary to get him. If the Bears want one of those QBs badly enough, they’ll find a way.