Tag: first round order

2021 NFL Draft: Here’s where the Bears pick entering Week 16

This is where the Chicago Bears currently pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft

The Chicago Bears evened their record to 7-7 with Week 15’s victory over the Minnesota Vikings, and while that’s great news for their playoff chances, it’s not ideal for their current standing in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Sure, every Bears fan wants meaningful games in late-December, and that’s what Chicago has in front of them with two games left to play. But is this team a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Is Mitch Trubisky a quarterback who can be trusted to win a playoff game in 2020, or ever for that matter?

If the answer to any of those questions is no, then it’s better for this team’s long-term future to land a higher draft pick (which, unfortunately, means losing games). They aren’t losing right now, and as a result, their first-round pick dropped to No. 16 overall.

Yep, right in the middle of Round 1. It’s a position usually held by the league’s mediocre clubs. It’s a draft pick that rarely produces a quarterback a team can build around. And it’s a reality the Bears are steamrolling toward this April.

Here’s where the Bears pick in the 2021 NFL Draft entering Week 10

What was once a season that felt like it could be a special, if not magical one when the Chicago Bears were 5-1 has quickly turned into an all-out panic after losing three straight games because of an offense that feels more like a youth league JV …

What was once a season that felt like it could be a special, if not magical one when the Chicago Bears were 5-1 has quickly turned into an all-out panic after losing three straight games because of an offense that feels more like a youth league JV squad than a collection of NFL starters.

And while most Bears fans will say they aren’t looking ahead to the offseason or the 2021 NFL Draft, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find reasons to feel confident about the direction Chicago is going in this season. And if the Bears aren’t going to be a legitimate playoff team, is it better to suffer through an agonizing season of defeats than to win a few meaningless games in the second half of the year?

It’s an age-old debate that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer. But what we do know right now is that the Bears, if the season ended today, would pick 16th overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

It’s sort of a worst-case scenario for this team. The 16th pick won’t land Chicago a franchise quarterback prospect (assuming the four likely first-roudners — Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Zach Wilson) are off the board by then. It probably will be just out of reach for a blue-chip offensive tackle, too.

The Bears’ two biggest needs are quarterback and offensive line, so at this point in the season, Chicago has to either stack wins and make a playoff run or let the bottom fall out and lose its way toward a new quarterback.

The status quo just won’t cut it. And neither will the 16th overall pick.