Chicago Bears: 5 players breathing sigh of relief after 2021 NFL Draft
By Ryan Heckman
What a weekend it was for the Chicago Bears, who absolutely dominated the 2021 NFL Draft.
Who knew that, just days after the draft was over, we would be looking at the national media giving rounds of applause for the job general manager Ryan Pace did. It was truly a memorable weekend, and Pace reeled a lot of doubting fans back in with the remarkable showing.
No draft pick was more exciting, around all of the NFL, than when the Bears moved up to number 11 overall to select Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. That moment alone defined this weekend’s draft, because now that all of the draft grades are coming out, it’s hard to find an outlet that didn’t give the Bears an ‘A+.’
Fields certainly gives this franchise hope for the future. This is a team that has been so defined by poor or mediocre quarterback play that Chicago has become the butt of too many jokes over the years. Finally, it appears as those jokes are over.
Fields will boost the stock of a lot of Bears players from the get-go. The entire team’s stock has risen simply because of that one pick.
The 2021 NFL Draft was great for many current Chicago Bears players, and some more than others.
Over the weekend, there were a few players in particular whose stock rose a little bit for different reasons; mostly due to the fact that they didn’t see Chicago threaten their position in the draft.
That’s always an interesting part of the draft. Current players pay attention mostly because they want to see how much better the team gets, but also because they don’t want to get replaced. Take Andy Dalton, for example. No matter what Ryan Pace or Matt Nagy say, he has to know his days are numbered as the presumed starter.
A few of Dalton’s teammates, though, should be feeling pretty good about themselves at the moment. Some, in particular, very well could have been replaced over the weekend — or at least seen a future replacement drafted. These five Bears are the ones who can relax, for now, after the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft.