Will the Chicago Bears’ past continue to haunt them ahead of the 2024 NFL draft?
Everyone remembers the 2017 NFL draft when the Bears moved up one spot — to No. 2 overall — to select UNC quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. That was the same year the Kansas City Chiefs moved up to No. 10 and selected Patrick Mahomes. The rest is history.
Trubisky showed some flashes early in his career, but it didn’t take long to realize he was not a franchise-level passer.
It’s not fair to pile on the Bears for selecting Trubisky over Mahomes. Sure, it’s laughable in retrospect, but the truth is that every other team passed on a chance to trade up for Mahomes. Even noted quarterback guru and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan passed up the opportunity to select Mahomes.
That brings us to the 2024 NFL draft. The Bears have the No. 1 overall pick for the second consecutive year, thanks to a one-sided trade with the Carolina Panthers. Last year, the Bears moved down and acquired multiple picks, including No. 1 this year and star wide receiver D.J. Moore, and the Panthers chose Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud.
Meanwhile, the Bears were content to allow Justin Fields to continue to develop heading into his third NFL season.
Was it the right decision? We shall see. But the Bears have a chance for redemption if they have questions on Fields. And there are plenty of reasons to question if Fields has shown enough. Remember, as a fourth-year player, he is eligible for a contract extension, and he won’t come cheap. Has he shown enough to Chicago to consider giving him a megadeal? Unlikely, or the discussions would’ve already happened.
With the No. 1 pick this year, the Bears can take USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams is the overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 pick, whether the Bears keep or trade the pick.
Williams isn’t a perfect prospect, but he has elite tools with a massive ceiling. The Washington Commanders, who have the No. 2 overall pick and will likely take a quarterback, reportedly love Williams — a Washington, D.C. native.
Would the Bears consider moving down one spot and passing on the chance to take Williams?
Longtime NFL writer Ben Volin doesn’t think so.
“It goes back to the 2017 draft when they picked Mitchell Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, and this is a franchise that can’t risk doing that again. They cannot risk Caleb Williams going to Washington and being a superstar,” Volin said Tuesday in an appearance on the “Sports Junkies” in Washington via Lou DiPietro of Audacy.
Volin has some maturity concerns with Williams and says, ideally, he thinks the Bears would love to move down one spot.
“I think in a vacuum, they would love to swap with Washington, go back to No. 2 and take Jayden Daniels and not worry about all the headaches that Caleb Williams brings, but he’s so talented, and that franchise is so desperate for quarterbacks that they’re just gonna have to bite their lip and talk themselves into accepting everything that comes along with him.”
Unless the Commanders make a historic offer to move up only one spot, the Bears are taking Williams for all of the reasons Volin stated. Washington GM Adam Peters is unlikely to make that kind of offer as he looks to use the Commanders’ extra draft capital to restock the roster while using the No. 2 pick on either Daniels or Drake Maye.
Washington happens to be in a good position heading into the draft.