The city of Chicago can breathe. Allen Robinson can breathe. Bears fans around the globe can breathe. They just won the NFL Draft with one single pick.
What Chicago did last night was something unexpected. They have gone years upon years without a true franchise QB; but look no further, because one is now heading to town in Justin Fields.
From the moment they drafted Mitch Trubisky, it has been an outpour of emotions from Bears fans. From the double doink, to a big loss in NOLA, the Bears just couldn’t figure it out. Seeing an all-world defense get older, Ryan Pace made the call to move up and land the best QB in the NFL Draft.
Once the clock started, nothing went Fields way. But to be honest, in this entire process Fields has been disrespected. Once San Francisco took Trey Lance, the fall was inevitable. Cincy followed up taking Chase, Miami with Waddle, and then Detroit with Sewell. With Fields on the board at 8, Carolina at least had to be thinking about it. But with their newfound trust in Sam Darnold, they addressed cornerback by selecting Jaycee Horn.
Then came Denver. Myself, and others included, thought this was the pick. Denver lands a franchise QB and can stop worrying about the lesser of two evils in Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater. But they passed, taking Patrick Surtain.
The fall was happening, but nobody expected Fields to fall outside the top 10. Chicago immediately picked up the phone with New York (Giants), seeming Dallas wouldn’t shock the world and take Justin Fields. Chicago took advantage of a blunder, and made it the best pick in the draft.
They came away looking like kings, only burning two 1sts and some Day 3 picks; they did it at a fair price. Chicago knew that Andy Dalton wasn’t the long-term answer at QB, and I’m sure they didn’t expect Fields to make it to 11. With New England ahead of them, they felt the need to move up before he fell to 15.
So Chicago, here’s this. You have your guy for a long time now. Whether or not you compete this year doesn’t matter. Whether or not Matt Nagy can turn around his play calling doesn’t matter,. You have landed the QB that nobody seemed to want, and that’s a good thing. You have a piece to not only help you contend sooner rather than later, but a piece for the future; a building block.
Alongside Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, and David Montgomery, this offense seems ready to roll into 2021 as one to be scared of. I expect them to add a WR in Day 2 or 3, bolstering up an offense that just went from basement dwellers to skyscraper sitters.
This is going to get fun in Chicago, and Justin Fields is going to put the world on notice. Those 10 teams, the ones that past on Fields, be aware of the monster you’ve created. Because the Bear is ready to come out of his den.
As always, you can chat or message me on my Twitter below, or catch all my draft work right here on LeagueWinners!
