5 Things the Bears Need to Do Correctly After Trading Justin Fields

After what seemed like an eternity, the Bears made their decision regarding Justin Fields and that decision lives in Pittsburgh. With that trade, the assumption is that the Bears will retain their number 1 overall pick and choose a quarterback.

Trading Fields made sense from a job protection standpoint for Ryan Poles. If he would have kept Fields and he did poorly, Poles would have been fired by Week 2. Nobody is going to fire him for taking either of the top three quarterbacks in the draft, even if they don't do well in the NFL.

However, Poles and the Bears have a long way to go before they are a year over year contender. The stretch goal for this year will be a playoff birth but the realistic goal is an above .500 record. A playoff team in 2025 is an absolute must. Texans QB CJ Stroud just proved how effective a rookie quarterback can be and comparisons will linger throughout the season.

Here are the next five things the Bears need to do in order to meet expectations of the Bears fan base.

Pick the Right Guy

Everyone says that USC QB Caleb Williams is the number one overall pick by a longshot. Again, nobody is going to fire Poles for picking Williams because everyone says he is the guy. The fanbase will not be forgiving if he does not do well. Bears fans need to have confidence that the front office can correctly assess talent.

Mitch Trubisky is, of course, the poster child for this phenomenon as the Bears traded up to number 2 for no reason (nobody else was going to pick Trubisky) and then did not pick Patrick Mahomes. It is prudent to point out that they also did not pick Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun Watson, TJ Watt, Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara, and George Kittle (lots of teams did not pick George Kittle four times, he went in the fifth round),

But Trubisky is far from alone in this category. Choosing Sid Luckman in 1936 was genius. Bears first-round quarterbacks after Luckman include Frankie Albert, Johnny Lujack, Bob Williams, Jim McMahon (not too shabby), Jim Harbaugh (what a great college coach), Cade McNown, and Rex Grossman (he did play in a Super Bowl for the Bears).

It may have been mentioned that everyone says Caleb Williams is the guy. Naysayers point to the fact that he threw for 900 less yards and 12 less touchdowns in 2023 than 2022 when he won the Heisman. They typically fail to mention that he threw 112 less passes. He actually had a higher passer rating in 2023.

Williams is good. He has great fashion sense. LSU QB Jayden Daniels is good. North Carolina QB Drake Maye is good. Williams doesn't even have to be the best of these guys. He just needs to be really good. Whoever the Bears pick, they just have to be right.