Bears: Ways to trade into the first round for a quarterback

If the Chicago Bears are done with Mitchell Trubisky, they’re going to need to get a new quarterback. That new quarterback could come from the 2020 NFL Draft.

Mitchell Trubisky was drafted second overall during the 2017 NFL Draft. It sounds weird but the last quarterback the Chicago Bears‘ drafted, they traded up for. If they’re going to get a top quarterback prospect like Joe Burrow, trading into the first round needs to happen.

The top five draft picks right now include the Washington Redskins (2), the New York Giants (3), and the New York Jets (5). All three teams drafted quarterbacks during the last two drafts, it’s unlikely they’d draft one in 2020.

Looking at the Redskins, their defense is terrible. The rumor is, the Redskins will be drafting Chase Young. Young has the potential to be an elite pass-rusher in the NFL. The Bears could give a trade package that involves Khalil Mack, who has dropped off this season. Mack will be 29 next season and still in the prime of his career. I wouldn’t make the trade but Ryan Pace is a different animal.

The Giants are needing linemen on both sides of the ball. The Bears could move Akiem Hicks and Kyle Long to get their first-round draft pick. The Bears would be filling two needs. I would assume the Giants would want either a second or a third-round draft pick in the trade. Hicks and Long both have contracts that expire in 2021.

The Jets are the worst trade spots out of the two others mentioned. They are drafting fifth if the season ended today, one after the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are in the market for a quarterback, just how the Cincinnati Bengals are. It’s unlikely Burrow would fall to five, especially after Tua Tagovailoa‘s draft stock plummeted due to injury.

The Jets are looking for linemen on both sides of the ball and a new cornerback. If the Giants aren’t interested in my Hicks/Long package for their top pick, maybe the Jets would be. It helps them in the short-term, while the Bears have a chance to get a franchise-changing player.

If any of these trades happen, the Bears need to draft a quarterback. You don’t trade up that high to take any other position in today’s NFL. The player I have fallen in love with is LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. I like the way he handles himself on and off the field. Burrow throws the ball well, has good size, and can move outside the pocket when asked to. I do have some concerns about his development to the next level. I don’t think he is the readiest quarterback coming out of this year’s draft, I do think he is the best though.

Other quarterback choices to draft high are Justin Herbert, Jake Fromm, and Jalen Hurts. Besides Herbert, trading up for Fromm or Hurts is a mistake. They could be around for Chicago’s second-round pick.

No matter what quarterback the Bears draft, he can’t be their day one starter. He needs to let the offense come to him and progress at his speed. Throwing him into a fire could ruin any of their careers.

The move is to get a veteran quarterback like Cam Newton, play him as a bridge quarterback for a year or two, and move on to the drafted quarterback. The Bears tried that with Mike Glennon, the problem just was Glennon was their choice. It’s like Pace didn’t care about the progression of Trubisky.

Hopefully, the Bears realized they messed up with Trubisky. They threw him into a situation too fast and he didn’t succeed as well as Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes did. I still have belief in Trubisky, just not in Chicago.

I think he needs a culture change where he has a head coach that uses his strengths, not weaknesses. The only way Trubisky works in Chicago is without Matt Nagy. One of them is going in the offseason, I got a feeling it isn’t Nagy.