Put it this way. The Bears Mitch Trubisky draft pick would likely have been praised if this were 2018. Why? That means the young quarterback went back to school for another year of experience instead of declaring after just 13 starts. Immediately the statisticians cried foul. Quarterbacks almost never succeed in the NFL after such little playing time.

Of course they overlook guys like Cam Newton and Johnny Unitas but never mind.

The point is nobody could fathom how Chicago could justify trading up from #3 to #2 in the first round to take such an unproven player. What stuck in their craws the most? If this guy couldn’t even beat out Marquis Williams for the starting job at North Carolina, what in the world makes him worth all that?

Most of these people don’t even bother to do their research or get any kind of detail. They just chalk it up to him not being good enough. In actuality the truth of the situation is never so black and white. Far more shades of gray and it was no different here. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune got details on what exactly happened.

Bears Mitch Trubisky draft crush began with show of resilience

The decision regarding who would start for North Carolina had nothing to do with talent. Several of the receivers actually lobbied the coaches to let Trubisky play. They saw what he was becoming and what he could do. However, college has always been about its hierarchies. Almost always the more experienced players see the field.

Program politics were involved, there’s no doubt, and opinions differed. Back in October, NFL scouts said the team’s wide receivers had lobbied for Trubisky to be the starter the previous fall. Ultimately, coach Larry Fedora made the call. You can’t argue with the team’s results.

The Tar Heels had a school record 11-game winning streak in 2015 when they went 8-0 in the ACC Coastal Division and fell just short against Clemson in a 45-37 loss in the conference championship game. Williams, who did not respond to requests for an interview, set more than 20 school records before his career ended. He’s fifth all-time in total yards in the ACC. North Carolina led the nation averaging 7.33 yards per play in 2015.

“I got asked that hundreds of times,” Fedora said of Trubisky’s pre-draft process. “I would say in the first two years, Mitch probably wasn’t ready. In the third year (2015), Mitch could have been the starter. (But) we had really good chemistry on our team and Marquise took us to a conference championship game. It was one of those things.”

Put simply Williams had the hot hand and Fedora decided to ride it. Not an uncommon decision in the history of football. It was more about how well one guy was playing than how good the other guy was. Trubisky even got a chance to show not only how resilient he was in the face of the constant waiting, but also how incredible his preparation was.

Early in 2015 Williams was benched towards the end of the first half of a tight 10-7 game against Delaware. Hoping for a spark, Trubisky was sent in. What followed was an offensive explosion that paved the way to a 41-14 laugher.

Patience and perseverance 

Sadly that game wasn’t enough to win the starting job. Trubisky was right back on the bench a week later. If anything it woke Williams up from his early season funk. He finished the year on a tear after that. It was a low point for Trubisky, who considered transferring to a new school where he might get a chance to play.

At times, Trubisky couldn’t help but wonder if Chapel Hill, which he fell in love with on his initial recruiting visit, was the right place. He mulled a transfer.

“We would have conversations where he would say, ‘I think I am doing all this hard work and it’s not going to pay off,'” said wide receiver Bug Howard, who went undrafted Saturday but signed with the Colts as a free agent. “That was very difficult. I’ve been there when he has gone through things and come back home and been like, ‘I don’t understand. What can I do?’

With support from teammates, Trubisky chose to stay put. Rather than take the easy way out, he’d work even harder. He wanted to be ready for his shot whenever it came. Coaches were beyond impressed with his level of preparation at the time, something that is rare for young players.

That drive to get on the field and stay there is what propelled Trubisky after practice. The Tar Heels would be done and he would remain on the field working with wide receivers. Going over routes. Perfecting throws to the spots they wanted balls. Away from the field, he poured over film, eager for his next opportunity to look just like his experience against Delaware.

That preparation was so effective that it seemed like every time Williams had to leave a game, Trubisky would come in and immediately strike for a big play. It happened almost like clockwork. Williams comes out, Trubisky goes in, touchdown, and Trubisky goes off.

Never getting enough

People often wonder why the greats like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees stand so far above others in the NFL. It’s not because they’re that much more physically gifted. As always it’s about the little things. Those men would put in hours upon hours of extra work in the film room and on the practice field. Doing everything in their power to fine tune their game and get an edge on the competition.

Trubisky has that same football junky mentality. Even before he started playing competitively, he sat in on high school football meetings as a fifth grader in his hometown of Mentor. He asked questions no kid his age ever asked. It’s why he was Mr. Ohio Football coming out of high school. It’s why he dominated in his only year as a starter for North Carolina and it’s why the Bears felt so comfortable staking their future in him.

The Bears Trubisky trade was, shall we say, a “polarizing” moment of the NFL draft for Chicago fans. More than a few people were furious about it. Some because they felt it was unnecessary to take a quarterback. After all the team had just got done paying  $18.5 million to Mike Glennon. Others because they gave up two thirds and a fourth round pick to move up from #3 to #2 overall to get him.

Assumptions immediately came out that the San Francisco 49ers had basically “fleeced” the Bears for a relatively unproven quarterback. Some have even gone so far as to say it’s the move that will get GM Ryan Pace fired. Was it really that bad? Not according to new details surrounding the situation.

Long-time Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King represented the MMQB when he got an inside look at the 49ers war room during the draft. He was front row center when the trade went down and the details are beyond fascinating. It started with discussions over compensation, involving the usual bargaining until a final price was reached.

Pricing the Bears Trubisky trade

“The Bears and Niners had an understanding that if Chicago’s man was still on the board after Cleveland picked (Chicago GM Ryan Pace wouldn’t tell Lynch who Player X was; the Niners figured it was Thomas), the Bears would give at least two third-round picks to move from three to two.

No nerves, but no pleasantries either. Marathe, who talks very fast and with great confidence, called another team with interest in the second slot and said, “We got some good action on the pick.” Marathe talked to the club official (he would not disclose the team, or the official) for maybe a minute, just to crystallize that if Garrett was there at two, the Niners would either pick or take a ransom for the pick.

“See if we can get one last thing with Chicago,” Lynch said to Marathe.”

Eventually the agreement was made verbally. As expected the Cleveland Browns went with defensive end Myles Garrett #1 overall. Trubisky was still available. San Francisco phoned in the trade and the two teams swapped places. Pace got the guy he coveted and the 49ers got some extra draft capital they so desperately needed.

Paying too much?

Of course then came the chants that the Bears gave up way too much in the deal. Three mid round picks to move up one spot? Absurd. Stupid. Terrible. As it turns out though Pace knew what he was doing. Ever the stiff negotiator, he actually came away with a pretty fair price as King later explained when comparing it to a previous trade from #3 to #2 for a quarterback.

“The last time a team traded up from three to two in the first round to get a quarterback happened in 1998, when San Diego moved up one spot and ended up drafting Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf. Let’s compare the compensation paid for two quarterbacks picked in the same spot 19 years apart.

• What the Bears paid to move from three to two for Trubisky: third- and fourth-round picks this year, and a 2018 fourth-round pick.

• What the Chargers paid to move from three to two for Leaf: a second-round pick in 1998, a first-round pick in 1999, returner/receiver Eric Metcalf and linebacker Patrick Sapp.

• Points Beathard paid to get in position to draft Leaf: 1,980.

• Points Pace paid to get in position to draft Trubisky: 580.”

Leaf was and likely still is the greatest draft bust in NFL history. He started just 21 games in San Diego and went 4-17. During that span he barely got over 3,100 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and 33 interceptions. He was cut in 2001. So even if Trubisky ends up as bad as Leaf was, which is highly unlikely, Pace is secure in the fact he didn’t mortgage the future like the Chargers did.

Necessity breeds action

Naturally the lingering question was why. Why did Pace feel the necessity to make the trade at all? Odds say Trubisky stood a good chance of being available at #3 overall. The Bears could’ve kept their picks and still gotten their guy. King concedes that the percentages say this is true, however he was quick to defend Pace’s decision. The rationale made plenty of sense in context.

“Ask me my gut feeling, and it is that yes, the Bears would have gotten Trubisky at three without moving. But it was not at all certain. What if the scenario happened that, as of Thursday, was legitimately possible—what if the Browns packed up enough picks to make the Niners move from two to 12? The 49ers had been in touch with Cleveland before the draft, and were anticipating they could get a call from the Browns when they were on the clock at two with Trubisky available. There was also a mystery team that I could not identify that wanted to move to two and wouldn’t say which player the team was targeting.”

In other words the belief that other teams were vying for #2 overall is true. Maybe Pace could’ve stayed put and still gotten Trubisky, but there was no way to be sure. In such cases, if you want the player badly enough, you trade up to get him. So Pace did, and he didn’t have to pay through the nose. If Trubisky becomes the franchise guy the team envisions, this sequence of events will be viewed as one of the more brilliant and well-executed draft maneuvers in Bears history.