NEWSLETTER
In a story posted to The Players Tribune, North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky announced he would forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft.
Trubisky started only one year for the Tar Heels, but made the most of it by breaking school records for passing yards (3,748) and touchdowns (30). He also completed 68 percent of his passes and threw only six interceptions. North Carolina went 8-5, but lost to Stanford by two points in the Sun Bowl. Trubisky is projected to be a first-round pick who could potentially come off the board within the first five selections.
Over at the Charlotte News & Observer, Scott Fowler weighs in and says Trubisky made the right call to leave – but projects to be only an average pro quarterback. Further, Fowler adds he sees Trubisky “becoming more of a Sam Bradford type than a Tom Brady.” Fowler writes Trubisky will be drafted on potential because of his NFL-caliber body (he is listed at 6-3, 220 on North Carolina’s website) and big arm, but also cites losses to Duke and North Carolina State in noting that he didn’t win enough on the college level.
Back in November, John Bauman and Logan Ulrich of the Daily Tar Heel (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s daily student-run newspaper) asked if Trubisky could be a successful NFL quarterback. In an attempt to answer their own question, they highlighted positives and negatives and went on a relatively deep film dive to visualize what he did well and where he could improve. It’s a pretty detailed piece worth your full attention.
All of which brings us to the question: is he the right fit for the Bears at No. 3?
Because the Bears don’t have an obvious answer to their long-term quarterback solution, Trubisky can be seen as a fit in that regard.
GM Ryan Pace mentioned the draft as an avenue they would explore when looking for the team’s next quarterback during his end-of-the-year State of the Bears press conference. Yahoo!’s Eric Edholm writes the Bears (as well as the Browns and 49ers) will do “extensive work” on Trubisky and shouldn’t hesitate to draft him if they fall in love. Over at CBSSports.com, Dane Brugler pegged Trubisky going third to the Bears in a November mock draft.
Drafting Trubisky would likely remove the Bears from making a trade for a quarterback that would cost the team draft picks, leaving the Bears with enough draft pick currency to fill other needs.
Even though Jay Cutler is under contract through 2020, it is hard to imagine he will be in a Bears uniform through his age 37 season – let alone play for the Bears in 2017 at age 34.
Brian Hoyer is a potential short-term solution as a bridge to the next Bears quarterback, while Matt Barkley could be vying for a backup role if he is re-signed in the offseason. But neither is the kind of stabilizing force the team seems to be looking for moving forward.
