3 Reasons It's Okay the Bears Didn't Draft C.J. Stroud

The Chicago Bears were not wowed by C.J. Stroud during last year's draft process. Being blown away was what it was going to take for Bears general manager Ryan Poles to take a quarterback in last year's draft and move on from Justin Fields.

Instead, Poles traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver D.J. Moore and four draft picks.

The Panthers must not have been impressed with Stroud either as they took Bryce Young instead. What a big mistake by both franchises.

Stroud is on his way toward winning Rookie of the Year while Young needs to learn how to play quarterback at his smallish size in the NFL.

Stroud has elevated the play of everyone around him. He is the deodorizing franchise quarterback. The Houston Texans have gone from a dysfunctional franchise to a division champion and now a playoff winner.

Meanwhile, the Panthers finished with the worst record in the NFL. They are the epitome of a dysfunctional franchise.

The Bears did miss out on an opportunity to solve their seven-decade-long problem at quarterback by sticking with Fields. Justin did make some improvements as a pocket passer, but it was not enough to firmly entrench himself as the franchise quarterback. That is why there is a good chance the team will move on from Fields this offseason.

The Bears could have avoided this had they not traded the top pick last year and took Stroud. Poles was pressed about not taking Stroud in his year-end press conference. He made some excellent points on the decision that was made. Additionally, there are three reasons it is fine that the Bears did not take Stroud.

The Chicago Bears got maximum value for last year's No. 1 overall pick

The Bears got 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns from D.J. Moore this season. They also got their right tackle for the next 10 years in Darnell Wright. In addition, they picked up a fourth-round pick when they swapped spots in the first round with the Eagles.

Oh, and the Bears have the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. The franchise is in a position to draft USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye. Those two have the talent to be just as good and possibly better than Stroud.

That is a maximum return to pass up on drafting Stroud. The deal was completely in Chicago's favor that the Panthers fired their general manager who pulled off the trade.

The Bears also have a future second-round pick in next year's draft. Had the Bears not maxed out the return for the No. 1 pick, then we can debate passing on Stroud all day. Instead, we might be grateful the Bears chose the path they are currently on.

It would have been a tough sell replacing Fields with another Ohio State quarterback

Justin Fields had his questions heading into last offseason, but he showed he was a dynamic playmaker. It was worth it to see if he could develop as a pocket passer. Plus, it was an easier sell to the fan base to add Moore.

What would have been a tough sell to an already skeptical fandom when it comes to quarterbacks is replacing Fields with another Ohio State quarterback.

Until Stroud came around, recent Ohio State quarterbacks were known to be busts. Fields was the first Buckeye quarterback to show promise in a while. A lot of his bad habits were developed in Columbus. He was used to having all the time in the world to throw. He was coached to release the ball once he saw his receiver open.

Stroud received the same coaching, so it would have been the same risk to go with him as it was to stick with Fields. People are also letting recency bias cloud that Stroud was not a consensus No. 1 overall pick. A lot of the scouting and draft experts thought Young was the better quarterback. Anthony Richardson was viewed as having more upside, too.

This is not like in 2017 when the organization did not give Deshaun Watson a free dinner to get to know him. It is certainly not in the same context as the franchise telling Patrick Mahomes they would draft him only to go with Mitchell Trubisky.

C.J. Stroud might not be the player he is if he played for offensive coordinator Luke Getsy

Bobby Slowik is getting a ton of credit for developing Stroud. He has done it by keeping things simple.

Everyone is raving about his play designs. A simple offensive scheme with great play calling and designs is two things you would never see attached to former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

There is a reason Chicago parted with Getsy after this season. He tried to turn Fields into Aaron Rodgers, ignoring that Rodgers is a rare talent that is hard to replicate. Fields even said a quarter into the season he was overthinking out there and not playing free.

If the Bears drafted Stroud, he would be playing under the same circumstances as Getsy. Stroud is clearly the better pocket passer than Fields, so he might have a shot at success. He would also probably be asked to throw 20 screen passes against the Minnesota Vikings.

He would also be running plays that were poorly designed, like having tiny Darnell Mooney be the lead blocker on a screen call.

Stroud has won a division and a playoff game with wide receivers that are not well known. He is a program elevator, but he also has a really good play caller putting him in a position to succeed. He would not have that here.

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