As the 2023 NFL season winds down, the attention on the 2024 NFL draft takes focus, and for the second consecutive year the Chicago Bears will have the No. 1 overall pick. After trading the top pick to the Carolina Panthers prior to the 2023 draft, the Bears are once again in prime position to either draft a quarterback, another position player, or trade back to gain more picks.
The team made a decision to stick with quarterback Justin Fields in the last draft which is why they traded the pick to the Panthers, who took Alabama Crimson Tide Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young.
But with the Panthers a league-worse 1-12 and the Bears owning their pick this time around, how the draft plays out is in their hands again.
GMs Say Right Your Wrong, Take A QB
Several GMs around the league believe Chicago should take a quarterback this time around which will likely be USC’s Caleb Williams, the projected top overall pick. That means trading the aforementioned Fields, which those GMs are more than OK with doing.
In a survey taken by Yahoo! Sports, here’s what some of them said about the pick.
“When you pass on talented quarterbacks to lean into a guy’s development, which the Bears did when they traded the No. 1 pick last year, you have to be completely sure of that decision to do it a second time,” an AFC general manager told the Yahoo! reporter. “Fields doesn’t get over the hump, you don’t want to be the guys that passed on both Stroud and Caleb Williams.”
“[Caleb Williams] worries me, but he is definitely talented,” an NFC general manager said. “It just buys you more time and a much cheaper contract to keep adding pieces to build the team.”
Bears Are In Do Or Die Mode
The team can’t afford to miss on another QB prospect after choosing Mitchell Trubisky No. 2 overall in a draft that had Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Add last year’s draft that netted Stroud and to a lesser degree Bryce Young, who’s in a no-win situation in Carolina this season.
Fields Needs A Change Of Scenery
Fields has been very solid since Week 4. In fact, the former Ohio State standout has the third-highest QBR in the league since Week 5. The team, which began the season 0-4, has won five of its past nine games to get to 5-8 and basically save the job of head coach Matt Eberflus.
At times, Fields has been dynamic, but more importantly, he’s protecting the football, while passing for six touchdowns and just one interception since that 0-4 start. He did miss four games with injuries, but he returned, it seems, at even a higher level.
Will Bears Trade Justin Fields Before Draft?
His play is also being monitored by prospective trade partners should the Bears brass decide to move in a different direction. That’s highly plausible for several reasons, first because Fields isn’t the present executive regime’s quarterback, they inherited him.
There’s also financial upside to trading Fields and drafting a new QB. It’s cheaper for Chicago going forward to have the No. 1 pick on a set rookie scale and under team control for five years.
With Fields, a new deal would need to be discussed in the very near future and if the organization is still unsure about him at that point, negotiations could get muddy.
A change of scenery might be the best situation for both parties involved. Former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham didn’t start executing his aerial assault until he got to Minnesota in the correct offense and was unstoppable. Atlanta, which is not too far from where Fields is from in Georgia, would be a comfortable landing place. Imagine Fields with running back Bijan Robinson (leads all rookies with 790 rushing yards, 320 receiving) tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London.
Has a nice ring to it.
