Great News: Senior Bowl QBs Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield Draw Interest from Teams Drafting Behind the Bears
Two of the top quarterback prospects available in the 2018 NFL Draft opened up some eyes at the Senior Bowl on Sunday, which is encouraging news for the Chicago Bears.
Wyoming’s Josh Allen was the North Team’s Most Outstanding Player after completing 9 of 13 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. While Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield finished the week the same as he started — as the draft’s most polarizing prospect.
And while he wrapped up the week without further damaging his image, reports of an awkward exchange with a Bears scout who wanted 15 minutes of his time rubbed some the wrong way.
All things considered, things couldn’t have gone much better from a Bears perspective.
Allen met with the Bills (who have two first-round picks and four of the first 56 selections) and was scheduled to link up with the Dolphins at some point during Senior Bowl Week. Meanwhile, Mayfield was a popular figure in Mobile, Ala., going through “extensive meetings” with the Bills, Dolphins, Saints, and Jets in what was an important week for his draft future.
To be clear, Chicago isn’t in the market for a quarterback. Not after what was sent to the 49ers in exchange for the right to draft Mitch Trubisky. Still, the developing quarterback market will directly impact how the team approaches the 2018 NFL Draft. With every quarterback that goes off the board before the Bears pick comes the increased likelihood of Chicago getting the best non-quarterback prospect available. And if either quarterback is available when the Bears are on the clock, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if GM Ryan Pace shops the pick to a quarterback needy team. Win-win.
With Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen sitting atop the quarterback prospect rankings, the Bears needed Allen and Mayfield to have strong showings during Senior Bowl Week. Not only did both do just that, we started to learn some teams who are drafting behind the Bears were showing interest in each quarterback prospect. That’s as close to a perfect scenario as the Bears can get at this point on the calendar.
