The Bears Know QB Disappointment. They Hope Justin Fields Is Different
To pull off the NFL draft’s biggest heist, Chicago’s front office needed patience and belief
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On the morning of the NFL draft’s first round, the Bears had three plans for using their first pick at no. 20.
Plan A: Trade up and draft a quarterback who general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy believed could be a potential franchise player. Plan B: Consider trading up for another position of need, given their belief that elite talent would thin out in the late teens. Plan C: Stay put at 20.
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The moment stood out for its candor, near the end of a stretch in the NFL calendar not known for forthrightness: After the Vikings selected Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis with the 86th overall pick in the draft on Friday night, college scouting director Jamaal Stephenson said the third-rounder was the product of marching orders that had come from Mike Zimmer more than six months ago. There was pretty much a directive from Zim, going into scouting this fall and throughout the season, Let s get bigger up front, Stephenson said Friday night. That was the directive, and we went out, and Wyatt Davis definitely fits that mold. He s a big man, he s long. He can play guard, potentially tackle.
Andy Dalton signed with Chicago after receiving assurances that he would be the Bears’ starting quarterback in 2021.
And even though trading up to take QB Justin Fields with the 11th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft changes the dynamic, Bears GM Ryan Pace maintains Dalton’s status as QB1:
Ryan Pace: Andy (Dalton) is our starter and we re going to have a really good plan in place to develop Justin (Fields).
This news cuts two ways for me. The obvious reaction is to roll my eyes, scoff, laugh, then question what’s the point of mortgaging future draft capital for Fields if he is going to sit on the bench. It’s a natural feeling and I won’t begrudge anyone who feels this way. However, it’s the other side of the coin where I find myself settling.
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You know it’s a new day in the Bears’ world when Ryan Pace not only is acknowledging comparisons to Patrick Mahomes, but embracing them.
For three years, Mahomes was the last subject the Bears’ general manager wanted to talk about. The Chiefs’ superstar quarterback was an awkward and painful reminder of the biggest misstep in Pace’s career one that still threatens to remain an indelible stain that follows him wherever he goes.
But after making a bold trade to select Ohio State’s heralded Justin Fields with the 11th overall pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, Mahomes now is a template that Pace was happy to acknowledge. The Bears’ plan to allow Fields to play a year behind Andy Dalton, just as Mahomes played one season behind Alex Smith in 2017 as the No. 10 overall pick, when Bears coach Matt Nagy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator.
We spent a bulk of the offseason making a baseball analogy when discussing the Chicago Bears’ pursuit of an upgrade at quarterback. Strike one came in the trade market. Then, strike two whizzed past GM Ryan Pace at the outset of free agency. Things weren’t looking too good facing a two-strike count. But the thing about baseball is that it takes three strikes to punch a batter out. And with that in mind, the Bears entered Draft Weekend prepared to take one more mighty swing.
Connecting on a trade-up to get Justin Fields is a home run from a morale perspective. So while time will tell what the end result of the play will be, simply putting bat on ball and putting int in play gives the Bears a fighter’s chance at making something good happen.