2017 NFL Draft: The Chicago Bears need to draft a quarterback early

The Chicago Bears parted ways with Jay Cutler at the start of the year. Even though they signed Mike Glennon to be the replacement, they still need a franchise-level leader. They need to find one in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The 2017 NFL Draft is almost upon us. On Thursday, we all find out what the Chicago Bears‘ plans are to reverse the struggles of the past several seasons. Picking at number three overall and having many holes to fill, they have a plethora of choices.

Whatever their plans for the overall draft strategy, the Bears NEED to draft a quarterback early in the draft. They need someone they feel capable of leading the franchise.

Yes, the Bears parted ways with Jay Cutler and signed Mike Glennon to replace him. They are on the hook for $14 million in 2017. On the other hand, that total is just $2.5 million in 2018. What that means is that they have their 2017 starting quarterback, but have some flexibility in determining the starter beyond this season. In order to field a winning team, they need that winning quarterback. I don’t think the Bears have as much confidence in Glennon as general manager Ryan Pace insists they have.

The time to draft a quarterback is now

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With Cutler at the helm, the Bears avoided going after any quarterback in the draft to push him. In fact, the last Bears quarterback drafted in the first round was Rex Grossman (who did lead them to the Super Bowl, for what it’s worth). Now that Cutler is out, the time to get a quarterback who can genuinely compete for the starting job is now.

Pace spoke about how important the quarterback position is (well, duh!). He said it was a priority going into his first two drafts, but came away with no quarterback. In fact, he had a chance to draft Dak Prescott. Of course, so did everyone else, as he went in the fourth round. I think the fact they had Cutler the thinking was he wouldn’t be too open in welcoming his possible replacement.

Glennon is a different creature. He seems to be a team player, and if he struggles and the Bears decide to go with a young quarterback, he won’t like it, but I don’t think he’ll rock the boat. Even if he plays well, Glennon may be more open to working with a young quarterback.

Also, don’t underestimate having Mark Sanchez. He did a great job in tutoring Prescott in Dallas. As much as having a great offensive line helped Prescott, Sanchez was a great stabilizer for him.

For those reasons, I believe Pace and the Bears will pull the trigger on a quarterback early. One way or another, they need to get that quarterback.

Can’t they wait until next year when the quarterbacks are supposed to be better?

I’ve heard the argument that the Bears could wait until next year’s crop of quarterbacks, who are supposed to be a lot better than this year. That may not be feasible for a couple of reasons. First, what if the Bears pass up on a quarterback on Thursday or Friday, and that quarterback ends up being another Prescott? The fallout from that will follow Pace and the Bears. Having a chance to draft TWO quarterbacks and missing out on them is something that can cost people their jobs.

Second, the Bears may be in a position next season where they can’t get one of the top quarterbacks next season. If they don’t go after a quarterback, they will go with a defensive player. Jonathan Allen, Jamal Adams, Solomon Thomas, and Marshon Lattimore are possibilities for the Bears. Getting a premium defensive player, to go along with having some talented players perform after missing last season due to injuries, the team can realistically end up over .500 in 2017. Picking in the middle of the draft puts them out of the running for the top quarterbacks in that draft.

Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs wrote about that fact:

"The Bears will be in position to fill a serious need on defense with the third pick. Say they take defensive linemen Solomon Thomas or Jonathan Allen or defensive backs Marshon Lattimore, Jamal Adams or Malik Hooker. They could get a building block for the future and improve to somewhere in the neighborhood of .500 this season. That would give them a pick around No. 16 in 2018 and leave them in no position to draft a quarterback."

I know people want to see the Bears use the 2017 NFL Draft to replenish the defense. This is something we are all used to seeing. This is an offensive league, however. You need to score many points to win games. The Bears offense got a lot of yards last season but did not score.

Next: Bears can look at Falcons success for help in draft

That needs to change, and for that to happen, they need a franchise-leading quarterback. Now, whether it’s Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes is something Pace needs to determine. We shall see on Thursday night.

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