The Chicago Bears are six games away from holding the #1 pick for the second straight year. Their odds look good. Carolina is a complete wreck and showing no signs of some miraculous turnaround. If things play out as hoped, GM Ryan Poles will have a golden opportunity to add more blue-chip talent to his roster. The obvious question is what he does with that pick. Almost everybody thinks the Bears will take a quarterback. That is what you do at #1 overall, even if it might not always be the right decision.
Go back to 2006. The Houston Texans held the #1 pick after a dismal 2-14 season. Everybody on the planet expected them to take a quarterback. There were two massive options: Texas superstar Vince Young and USC legend Matt Leinart. The two had just played in one of the greatest games in college football history. They were locks for NFL stardom. Texans GM Charley Casserly didn’t see it that way. His philosophy was different. While quarterbacks are important, his responsibility was to pick the best possible player.
To him, that was North Carolina State pass rusher Mario Williams. So, to the shock of experts and fans everywhere on draft night, Houston passed on both QBs to take him.
Ryan Poles can learn something from that decision.
Casserly was lambasted from all directions for the decision, feeling he’s cost his team a golden opportunity at a franchise QB. However, time proved otherwise. Williams became a four-time Pro Bowler and retired with 97.5 sacks. Young had a promising start in Tennessee but flamed out. Leinart was a disappointment in Arizona. Houston claimed their first two winning seasons in franchise history with help from Williams. It looks like a similar scenario is shaping up in 2024.
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Everybody is talking about quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. These are generational guys—can’t-miss talents. The truth is neither is the best player in the class. That distinction belongs to Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., and it’s not close.
Ryan Poles understands the value of the quarterback position. He’s not ignorant. That being said, he also knows Harrison is a true generational talent. Nobody of his caliber has come out of college since Julio Jones or Calvin Johnson. The key difference with the Bears’ situation is they have a far better QB than Houston did 17 years ago. Justin Fields is far superior to David Carr. Poles would be justified from any angle to pair Harrison with D.J. Moore, giving the Bears their most talented receiving duo in a decade.
If Fields doesn’t work out, Poles will know he’s put together a roster that can help the next quarterback find immediate success. Not all good QBs came from the top five picks.
