Bear Cave's Top 5 Breakout Candidates For 2022
August 21, 2022, 10:33 AM CDT
In my last article, I said Cole Kmet is my Top Candidate to Breakout for the Bears this year. You may be wondering who else I think will break out. Today, I will provide my Top 5 Bears Breakout Candidates for the 2022 season. This list excludes guys who already have broken out, such as Darnell Mooney and David Montgomery. Fields is also not included as he would break out as a result of a few of these guys breaking out. And without further delay, let's get into this.
1. TE Cole Kmet
Cole Kmet was our first pick in 2020. He hasn't lived up to the hype quite yet, then again, he was limited in Matt Nagy's offense. In a year where there is no true, clear cut contested catch target, I expect Kmet to step into that role this year and have a great season. I also expect him to be a bigger target in the red zone, racking up something along the lines of 700-800 yards and 6-8 TDs. That would be a successful season for Kmet in my opinion.
2. OLB/EDGE Trevis Gipson
You could make the argument that Trevis broke out last season. 7 sacks in a year where he was still seen as maybe a year away from getting significant playing time. Now that Khalil Mack is gone, Trevis is getting the keys to the operation, along with Robert Quinn. I think Trevis will have a monster season, racking up 10+ sacks and overtaking Quinn as our top Edge rusher. I believe it is next offseason where 2020 draftees are eligible for extensions, and Trevis could earn himself a good deal if he plays well this season.
3. WR Velus Jones Jr
Here we have a rookie who was heavily criticized coming out of the draft as he is 25 years old. Here's what I have to say to those criticizers. I am glad you don't run this organization. Velus is a speedster, someone who will do wonders in this Luke Getsy offense. If he can solidify a WR2 or WR3 spot, that will help out Justin Fields tremendously.
4. S Jaquan Brisker
Anyone who watched the Kansas City game knows that Jaquan Brisker is going to be special. He plays the game with a passion, hungry for takeaways and stopping the offense. Hell, he forced a three and out all on his own yesterday. Him being here will help Eddie Jackson move back to his natural roaming safety position, where he thrived in 2017 and 2018 with Adrian Amos. Both will compliment each other nicely, allowing both to play better as a result and dominate the safety spots.
5. WR N'Keal Harry
Despite the injury/surgery, I still expect Harry to have a breakout year. With a new change of scenery, Harry will have to fight for a spot on the team and fight even more for a starting spot. WR is really open right now for the Bears. Having Harry play well could be a massive steal for us, getting a potential key contributor for just a 7th Round Draft Choice. Hopefully the surgery lowers his timetable to return, and he can be back sooner rather than later to give him a chance to win a roster spot on this team.
Honorable Mentions: WR Byron Pringle, OT Braxton Jones, ILB Nicholas Morrow, CB Kyler Gordon
Cole Kmet is Primed For a Breakout Season
Why Darnell Mooney Is Primed For A Special Season
August 28, 2022, 10:21 PM CDT
Before we start, I want to say that I don’t think this will be a breakout year. That already happened last year. Instead, Mooney is going to have one of, if not the best Bears WR season of all-time. Now, it’s going to be pretty hard to beat Brandon Marshall’s 2012 season. But it isn’t impossible. First of all, Mooney is going to be the top receiving target. By a lot. While there is a bunch of middle/lower tier talent on our team that may result in a stud out of the group, there’s no true #2/#3 target. Kmet will likely break into that #2 target role as I’m predicting. However, the majority of the passes will go to Mooney. Mooney is a speedy receiver, who has shown his vertical ability despite being shorter than 6 feet tall. Last year, Mooney caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and 4 touchdowns. All of this, as he just revealed, was playing through a groin injury. In a Matt Nagy offense with a groin issue, Mooney put up those numbers. This year, he is in a completely revamped offense with a QB who has taken massive leaps and an O-Line that is actually competent. Being the sole number one target primes him for a special season. It will not be anything like Cooper Kupp’s last year. And as I said, it might not reach Brandon Marshall’s 2012 season, which is currently the best season by a Bears WR of all-time up to this point. I could see this year being more like somewhere between B-Marsh’s 2013 season, and Alshon Jeffery’s 2013 season. Now, is B-Marsh’s 2012 season in reach? Of course it is, with 17 games as the top target on the team. Mooney’s year last season was the Bears 15th best of all-time. Now that he’s fully healthy, it’s time to see him climb up that leaderboard and have a very, very good season.
Darnell Mooney is about to have an amazing season
Why Lucas Patrick Should Start At Center On Sunday
October 8, 2022, 10:33 PM CDT
Bears Twitter is not the place a player should go after having a rough game. Over on Twitter, us fans are ruthless on our criticisms and calls for player benchings this early into the season. Some have called for us to bench Justin Fields already and draft a QB next year (Fields has made just 14 career starts by the way). However, one player who Bears Twitter is right about needing to be benched is Center Sam Mustipher. Now, Mustipher was supposed to be the backup to Patrick at Center. However, an injury to Patrick’s right hand kept him out of most of training camp, and he couldn’t snap when he came back as he was wearing a cast on his hand. However, the cast has come off now, and Mustipher is still at Center. Now, this wouldn’t be a problem if Mustipher is playing well. And don’t let ESPN’s apparent “100% pass block win rate” statistic fool you. Sam Mustipher is a liability at Center. You can’t lose blocks you don’t make is essentially my response to that statistic. PFF has graded Mustipher as the worst Center in the league in pass blocking with a grade at 22% (36 out of 36 Centers). He allowed 7 QB Hurries on Sunday’s game, which is impossibly bad for a Center to give up. He finished out with an 8.3 pass blocking grade. Everyone has jumped to criticize Fields about not finding open guys, but he can’t even get an opportunity to wait and find guys like Mooney if pressure is in his face just 2 seconds after the snap. And don’t even get me started on the amount of bad snaps it seems Mustipher has given Fields under center. Plus, kicking Lucas Patrick to Center will improve his play as well. He was a very solid Center when needed last year for Green Bay, better than when he played at Guard. And he hasn’t been playing very good football at both Right and Left Guard this year. So kick Patrick in, insert either Michael Schofield or Ja’Tyre Carter at LG, and put Sam Mustipher on the bench. Maybe now, Fields will have more time to find open receivers and a lot of fault can be taken off his shoulders.
Lucas Patrick should be moved to Center for tomorrow's game
3 Mock Trades With The Carolina Panthers For WR's
October 11, 2022, 10:02 PM CDT
Yesterday, the Carolina Panthers fired Head Coach Matt Rhule. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that the Panthers are open to trading just about anyone as they look to stockpile picks. A few wide receivers are expected to draw interest from multiple teams. The big fish is D.J. Moore, but there are a few others too. So I compiled three mock trades the Bears could make to pick up a WR from a now rebuilding Panthers team.
1. Bears Land D.J. Moore, Avoid Giving Up First Round Pick
Bears Receive: WR D.J. Moore
Panthers Receive: 2023 2nd Round Pick, 2024 4th Round Pick
The big fish of the Panthers receiving room, as I mentioned, is D.J. Moore. The Bears won't be the only team interested. Several teams will make competitive offers to try and secure the services of one of the most underrated receivers in the league today. He's instantly our WR1, and we acquire him while avoiding giving up a first rounder. We make a competitive offer of a 2nd rounder and a future 4th rounder, and while this year might not be a playoff push year, the next four years of his contract most definitely will be. And you never know, maybe he's the piece that boosts us towards playoff contention this year.
2. Bears Get Former 1,000 Yard Receiver For Cheap
Bears Receive: WR Robbie Anderson
Panthers Receive: 2023 6th Round Pick
Last year, I picked up Robbie Anderson for my fantasy team, as he came off a 1,000 yard season. He was not targeted much by Sam Darnold. On the Bears, he would be one of the top two options with him receiving a lot of targets. A developing QB like Fields could use a guy like Anderson, a guy with recent success who is also a veteran. Anderson is tied up through next year, so giving up a 6th round pick for a guy who might be here just a year and a half doesn't seem too bad.
3. Poles Takes A Flyer On A Former Bear Cave Favorite
Bears Receive: WR Terrace Marshall Jr
Panthers Receive: 2024 4th Round Pick
I was really high on Terrace Marshall in the 2022 Draft, he was one of my top guys to pick at 20 before we traded up. However, the Panthers have failed to utilize him in a way where he could make a meaningful impact. A fresh reset with the Bears could help boost his career before it is too late. He would instantly get an opportunity with a weak Bears receiving room this year, and maybe we could see him emerge as a top weapon for Fields in the coming years.
DJ Moore would be the perfect WR1 of the future for the Bears
The Future of the Bears Secondary Is In Good Hands
October 28, 2022, 10:44 PM CDT
Ryan Poles has a long-term vision for the team. Whenever we hear him talk about the roster, it's always looking towards the future. That is how you build a dynasty, you build a team that can be really good in the future. That's what he did in his first offseason as Bears GM. He inherited a terrible situation from Ryan Pace, and had to clean up the mess left behind. What he did was remarkable. Going from 6 picks to 11 in the 2022 draft, and freeing up so much cap space that our free agent class of 2023 has endless combinations of players to choose from. But why am I talking about Ryan Poles right now when the article should be about the secondary? Well, the first two picks of his first draft class were both picks in the secondary, in CB Kyler Gordon and S Jaquan Brisker. People were flaming Poles for choosing these two over Georgia WR George Pickens, especially after Pickens' hot start to his NFL career. However, especially after the New England game on Monday, it looks like Poles got these picks right.
Kyler Gordon
Let's start by talking about Poles' first ever draft pick, CB Kyler Gordon. Poles and the front office didn't have a first rounder to work with, so they had to wait until Day 2 and Pick 39 to begin. They went with Washington CB Kyler Gordon, a guy they didn't expect to be on the board at that point. Gordon struggled for the first few games of his career, as he was allowing plenty of receivers to make open catches. However, he has recovered nicely the last few days and even got his first interception late in the game against the Patriots. While people will argue for George Pickens, Gordon was the right pick for us where he was.
Jaquan Brisker
Our secondary last year was...not good. And so after taking Gordon, people believed we would go Pickens at 48. Instead, Poles pulled the trigger on Jaquan Brisker to complete the secondary fixing. Brisker was projected to go much earlier than anticipated. Watching 1920 Football Drive (essentially the Bears equivalent to Hard Knocks), we learned that Brisker was actually the Bears backup option at 39 if Gordon was already taken. But, somehow he fell and we got an absolute steal. He got an interception on Monday night that led to Mac Jones being benched. He has played in 227 coverage snaps so far this year, allowing just 77 yards and no touchdowns. Ryan Poles said on Monday before the game that he expected Jaquan to make plays on the ball soon, and that night he delivered. If he keeps up this pace, some are starting to talk him into the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation.
Jaylon Johnson
Johnson is a third year corner out of Utah, and has been our CB1 since after Kyle Fuller was released in March 2021. Johnson was lockdown last year, and he has remained lockdown so far. He did miss a few games due to a quad injury, and has let a few catches slip by him, but before the injury he was not being targeted by quarterbacks. They don't want to throw to him, and I expect him to make plays on the ball as well with the new emphasis on turnovers by the new coaching staff.
Kindle Vildor
The shock out of the group, Vildor had a switch turn on in him after tipping a pass that led to an Eddie Jackson pick. Since that moment, he has been the best corner in the division and a top 5 corner in the entire league. 47.9 completion percentage, 54.7 passer rating allowed, just 68 total yards allowed, and he made his first career interception happen against the Vikings. Those are All-Pro level numbers, which are shocking after his abysmal 2021 and his poor start in the first two games this year. What a turn around its been for him.
Eddie Jackson
Finally, we reach the most seasoned player on this team. Eddie Jackson (or BoJack) has enjoyed quite the rejuvenated season this year. In 2018, Eddie was a ballhawk and racked up a lot of picks and defensive scores. However, through 2019 to 2021, he had just two interceptions (both in 2019). None of them were touchdowns, as both were on the final plays of their respective games. He still remained great in coverage, but people were losing hope after he seemingly lost this ability to make plays. However, he began the season off hot, with three picks in four games. He remains elite in coverage, as both him and Brisker form a safety duo that is likely better than the elite combo of BoJack and Adrian Amos in 2017 and 2018. As long as Eddie keeps up this play, he will likely get his contract extended again and hopefully retire as a lifelong Bear.
So after looking at all five starters in the secondary, we can clearly see that this secondary is young and ready to dominate the league for years to come. All five of them have multiple years on their contracts, and they've formed arguably a top ten secondary unit in the NFL. Ryan Poles did an excellent job with his first two draft picks, and the trust Matt Eberflus and his staff have put into these young guys has definitely paid off for us through seven games.
Jaquan Brisker is arguably the best safety out of the 2022 draft class so far
Why Trading Roquan Smith Was The Right Move For Bears
November 1, 2022, 10:24 AM CDT
You don't pay off-ball linebackers big money. You just don't. None of them in this league today are worth $20 million, not even Roquan. It's almost impossible to replace him, but we don't necessarily need him to be a successful football team. ILB is not that important of a position. And especially on an expiring deal, it was best to get the picks and move on. Especially the fact that Roquan was likely not going to sign any extension we gave him, we would’ve only gotten a third round compensatory pick rather than the second and fifth round picks we got from Baltimore. Ryan Poles was smart as well to make this deal instead of franchise tagging him. Insider Jordan Schultz said that Poles did not want to risk another holdout like the one Smith was in this offseason. That would be detrimental to the teams success, and Roquan’s success. It’s clear Roquan took a step back this season, even though the stats won’t show it. The Dallas game just solidified it, and if he plays like that the rest of the way, it will be a good thing we got rid of him and got back what we did.
Roquan warming up for the game at Dallas
Why I’m Not Mad At Sunday’s Loss To Dallas
November 2, 2022, 8:59 PM CDT
The Bears lost to the Cowboys on Sunday by a score of 49-29. It was a domination by the Cowboys offense. The defense was terrible. Yeah Robert Quinn got traded, but you can't let that be your excuse. Now that Roquan has been traded (he was arguably affected the most), the defense can't let that happen again when we play Miami. However, I am not mad at this loss. The offense looked good. Justin Fields may have proved that he is the guy. If he doesn't have the game he has, I don't think we get Chase Claypool. Speaking of wide receivers, N'Keal Harry caught his first TD as a Bear, and he looks like he could be a really solid WR3 for us. I will be publishing an article sometime after I review his All-22 footage from the game, and if what I saw on TV holds true in the All-22, oh man we may have ourselves a steal of a player. Khalil Herbert continued to be hot, racking up almost 100 ground yards. We will avoid what happened defensively against the run because it was terrible. Oh yeah, Cole Kmet finally caught a touchdown. I really thought this was the year he could break out, and maybe with a new offensive weapon on the team, he can get open more and be that breakout player I've been expecting to see since training camp.
N’Keal Harry caught his first touchdown as a Bear on Sunday
The Bears Have Found A Steal In Braxton Jones
November 18, 2022, 11:04 PM CST
I am doing my All-22 review on offense this week on Braxton Jones. Through just one drive of film, I knew I needed to write a separate article on him. Many people said the Bears could not have their Starting LT be a fifth round rookie, and it was a disaster waiting to happen. While he’s had a couple bad games, Jones has done a great job so far this season. He’s quick and athletic, he moves better than any other 6’5, 315 lb man. His quickness helps him block on the outside runs effectively, as we saw in the first drive of the Detroit game, and on the Fields touchdown runs in the fiest half against the Lions, and on his rushing touchdown against the Patriots. He’s nasty and plays hard, it’s clear he is well coached. Many have said we should sign a left tackle in free agency, when I think the opposite. Braxton has the potential to be our long-term LT, and he’s already developing into that role this season. Not to mention, he came from an FCS school, so he didn’t face the level of competition and exposure as some other lineman drafted earlier had. His biggest weakness is against the bull rush, but if he fixes that, he could be a starter for a long time on this team.
Braxton Jones during preseason
Resting Justin Fields For The Year Would Be A Big Mistake
November 24, 2022, 10:14 AM CST
I'm going to preface this by saying that I think Fields should rest on Sunday. But he should not be rested for the remainder of the year. His injury, as he said yesterday, is a separated shoulder with some torn ligament. Or basically an AC Joint injury. He said that hypothetically if the team had a game yesterday, he would not have played. Matt Eberflus said that he would've been listed as limited, but they held a walkthrough after consulting with the sports science department and determined that players needed a rest. Justin also said that Eberflus told him that it will be up to him on whether or not he plays. I've seen people say that the team needs to rest Fields for the remainder of the season. No, no they should not. It would be a big mistake to keep him out for the remainder of the year.
Fields Needs These Reps To Develop
Every rep is valuable in the NFL. Whether you are playing the best or worst team in football. Fields sitting out the rest of the year will take away valuable reps against teams like Green Bay, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Minnesota. All of those games he can learn how to deal with different defenses, whether they be good or bad. He's fighting adversity this season without a good offensive line and really not a good receiving core. What if, in the future, his star receiver goes down injured and he's left with a receiving core comparable to the one we have today? What if an offensive lineman goes down? Look, I get that some people think Fields has done enough to show he's finally the answer at QB, but he's still raw. Sunday showed that there are still things to fix. For example, that deep ball to Mooney in the first quarter. Can't use the injury excuse there, Fields has to hit that. Once he can develop that, he will be special. But the only way to develop these kinds of things is to get reps in games, not sit him. I hope he plays against Green Bay, as I do agree with sitting him Sunday but Green Bay is a must play, if he doesn't suffer any setbacks in practice.
Fields should still play this season
Why I Can't Give Up On Velus Jones Yet
November 26, 2022, 3:14 PM CST
I can't give up on Velus Jones Jr yet.
He‘s shown time and time again that with the ball in his hands, good things can and will happen. Some of the jet sweeps he’s run, oh boy he looks electric. He’s caught some screens that he’s taken for solid gains. And on his kickoff returns, he’s done well. He brought his first kickoff after returning from the inactive list 50 yards against the Falcons. Side note, they didn’t kick to him anymore after that play. But the problem is, he hasn’t gotten the ball in his hands a lot because he hasn’t caught the ball. Two dropped punts and a dropped deep ball saw him be listed as inactive for Weeks 9 and 10. However, you can’t give up on him this early in his career. There’s things you can do to fix his drop problem. You could either put him on the Jugs machine, keep him in games and force him to come up with catches on punts and passes. Or, I am going to suggest another change the Bears could make to his game.
The Bears Should Try Velus Out At Running Back
This is actually an idea many fans have had over the last few weeks. We know he has the talent with the ball in his hands. But his catching ability is weak. With Khalil Herbert out, now would be the perfect opportunity to try Velus out in the backfield. He’s the fastest and shiftiest of any running back on the roster. I wanted to simulate this and see what would happen if this were to happen, so I took to Madden to give me a slight idea of the possibilities if we handed Velus the ball.
The Experiment
The Bears ended up giving Velus the ball 102 times in the 17 game season. Velus had 3 rushing touchdowns, splitting time with David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. He finished the season with 477 rushing yards. While I didn’t end up playing in game to see what it would be like, it’s clear that Velus would have value in the backfield as a gadget guy to confuse the defenders and score from time to time.
Despite the drops, there’s still a lot more Velus has to offer
The Bears Are Rebuilding The Right Way
January 20, 2023, 12:05 PM CST
The Bears formally introduced new team President/CEO Kevin Warren on Tuesday with a press conference. With this hire, you formally ring in a brand new, modern era of Chicago Bears football. In 2021, you got your franchise QB. Justin Fields is already showing that he will be an elite QB in this league. Something this team desperately needed to happen this year. In 2022, you got your GM and Head Coach to lead this team to the promise land. Ryan Poles was chosen as he had a clear vision for this team, which unfortunately meant a tear down and trades of fan favorites such as Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, and Roquan Smith. The team ended up being the worst in the league this year, however, with Fields breaking out this past year, you won't need a QB in the draft. You can trade down a pick up a major haul of picks and possibly players for first overall, while also still being able to land an elite talent in the first round. Speaking of the teams' lack of failure, you would think being 3-14 would have a major effect on the locker room. But, it hasn't. The reason? Head Coach Matt Eberflus, who was hired by Poles to coach this team to championships. Despite just a three win season, Flus has built a culture that has held the locker room together. It's also how we lost that helps. We were still playing competitively up until the final three weeks, when key guys started to go down to injuries. This is due to the HITS philosophy that Flus introduced to us last year in his opening presser, around this time of year as well. Guys bought into it and you could see the effort they played with. We would've been a playoff team if we had won all our one score games. With more talent, and better talent next season, those close losses will turn into wins. Back to the tear down situation with Poles, I forgot to mention that we have the most cap space of any other team in the league this offseason thanks to all those trades. Oh yeah, and the next closest team has almost $50 million less than us. If we didn't trade those guys and had the same record, we would not be in the drivers seat of the offseason like we are now. $120+ million in cap space and the first overall pick? Come on, that's a recipe for success. And you also have you quarterback, something that the Bears haven't had since 2010 Jay Cutler, and in terms of a good player for the franchise long-term, you'd have to go back to either Jim McMahon, or even further with Sid Luckman. Poles made the right moves, and though we didn't take the North this year, there's a good chance we can do it next year as we battle Detroit and Minnesota for that spot.
Finally, the Kevin Warren hire. You can tell from his press conference that the Bears made the right hire. And with this hire, it officially begins a new era here in Chicago. Actually, that's soon going to be Arlington Heights. Kevin Warren and George McCaskey, who made a brief statement prior to Warren taking the podium, both confirmed that the Bears sole focus is on the Arlington Heights property and development. Warren said he doesn't have an exact timeline on the stadium's build and completion date, but he should know in six months. Other information regarding Warren, Ryan Poles will report to him but he will still have total authority over the football operations. That doesn't mean Warren can't give advice, as he's had NFL executive experience in the past, but it does mean that Warren won't have a final say in everything. This is unlike prior GMs, such as Ryan Pace who had to have Ted Phillips and George make the final say. Poles having full authority helps us out as a person who has evaluator experience is calling the shots. Speaking of experience, let's talk about Warren's experience for a second. Warren is a historic hire for the team. Once again showing this new era, Warren becomes the first President/CEO to not be hired from within the organization, and just the second to not be part of the Halas/McCaskey family, after Ted Phillips. Warren was a lead force in getting US Bank Stadium in Minnesota built, and he’s been serving as the Big 10 commissioner the last few seasons. With the Big 10, he secured the additions of USC and UCLA to the conference, and he also secured a large media rights deal with multiple TV networks to broadcast games. Now, he exits the Big 10 and will ease into this role before officially starting in April.
The future has never been brighter for the Bears. A QB who is developing into a star in front of our eyes, something we’ve never had before. A GM who knows you cannot just go and give out large contracts in free agency, you have to be wise with your spending. The same GM who prioritizes building through the draft instead of just through free agency and trades. Oh yeah, and that GM has a right hand man, Ian Cunningham, who himself was offered a GM job this offseason but stayed to see this project through. A Head Coach who has completely flipped the culture or the locker room and team around from what it was after the previous coaches’ tenure ended. The most salary cap in the NFL by a country mile. A young secondary that might just be another corner away from being one of the best in football. A new President who has been vital in past stadium projects and will lead the development of a new, modern stadium in Arlington Heights that can host not just the Bears, but the Super Bowl, Final Four, and more. Oh yeah, and the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. And with us having that young QB, there are many QB hungry teams looking to move up and give us a big haul in a trade in order to secure their franchise guy. As fans, we should all be excited for what’s in store for us in the future.
The Bears formally introduced Kevin Warren with a press conference on Tuesday
Should The Bears Draft A QB? (The Answer Is No)
January 24, 2023, 10:10 PM CST (Written by Harrison Reinstein)
Foreword from Bear Cave: For over two years, I have run this operation on my own, covering news on the Bears, Bulls, and Cubs. However, I decided to let a friend of mine write an article. He asked if he could write something for my site, and I accepted. And so, here is the first ever article not written by me on this page. Enjoy.
Bears QB Justin Fields finished an electric sophomore year landing second all-time for QB rushing yards in a single year with 1,143 yards. Unfortunately, Fields finished the season with some underwhelming passing stats. He finished with only 2,242 yards and 17 TDs in 15 games played. Fields also threw an interception on 3.5 percent of his passes, which was the 2nd worst in the league only trailing Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. These stats make you wonder if the Bears coaching staff possibly considers spending the number 1 overall pick on Fields replacement. The argument for doing this is that it would give Ryan Poles more time. If you keep Fields, you would only have two years left on his rookie contract plus his 5th-year option. The optimal time to build a contending team is during a QBs rookie contract. Having a QB on a rookie contract allows the team to spend more money on other key positions. Drafting a QB would give Poles an extra two years of having a signal caller on a rookie contract. Drafting a QB would make Fields available for trade. Ultimately I believe that we should keep Fields for at least the 2023 season. It would make more sense to trade the number 1 pick because it would ultimately bring us more value than trading Fields would. The hope would be that Fields passing numbers will improve next year. If Fields doesn't take a step up next year as a passer, I think it would be concerning enough to the front office to the point where we would move on from him. Especially with the stacked QB class next year that features Heisman winner Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and many others, the front office would have a big decision to make. Although Fields' passing stats last year may have been a little concerning, I am expecting him to take a big leap next year, especially considering that Ryan Poles has over 115 million dollars in cap space to spend. Being able to have a full offseason working with Mooney, Kmet, Claypool, etc., is ultimately going to do wonders for Fields. So no, I do not believe the Bears should draft a QB with the first overall pick.
Harrison Reinstein answers the question of whether the Bears should draft a QB with 1