If the Bears were given a second chance at the 2017 NFL Draft, how would you feel if they re-selected quarterback Mitch Trubisky with their first-round pick?
A group of ESPN’s NFL insiders – Matt Bowen, Mike Sando, Field Yates, Aaron Schatz, and Kevin Seifert – were given that very chance (well, hypothetically) to re-live that moment, with the advantage of knowing what we know now regarding rookie year performance. And what do you know, the Bears stick would probably stick with Trubisky.
After watching Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett go off the board before the Bears pick (originally #3), Yates carefully considers the other prospects on the board before sticking with Trubisky as The Man worthy of being the third overall selection.
You can check out the entire top-5 and the reasoning behind each pick here.
As for Chicago’s choice, Yates cites Trubisky’s “undeniable talent” and the quarterback-quandary the Bears would have found themselves in had they passed on the North Carolina product. After all, imagine what you’d think of GM Ryan Pace, if you were forced to watch Mike Glennon lead the Bears all season, while passed over QBs like Mitch Trubisky and Deshaun Watson succeeded elsewhere. On top of that, remember that it was the presence of Trubisky in the first place, that inspired Pace to go in a different direction with the coaching staff after the season.
With Trubisky settled in as QB1, Pace went out and hired an offensive-leaning head coach in Matt Nagy who has a background as a quarterback developer. From there, Nagy hired an offensive coordinator (Mark Helfrich) with decades of coaching up young quarterbacks, an offensive line coach with NFL experience who has also developed some high-end college prospects, and a well-respected running backs coach (Charles London) to round out the staff. All of those moves were made with the goal of getting the most out of Trubisky moving forward. That Trubisky’s presence helped lure these coaches while also playing a role in retaining the team’s defensive mastermind, Vic Fangio, is icing on the cake.
Without Trubisky, the future could have been drastically different. But all things considered, it’s hard to imagine the Bears’ front office wanting to change a thing and go away from a guy they had enough conviction to swing a deal to take with the second overall pick.