By Jackson Melin
Quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze, courtesy of Chicago Bears
Since 2000, the Chicago Bears have had 20 starting quarterbacks, tied for second most of all time. No Chicago Bears quarterback has ever thrown for more than 3,900 yards or 30 touchdowns. The Bears were founded in 1920, yet only have one Super Bowl win to their name (excluding pre-NFL championships). With that in mind, how does this franchise only have one ring? One word, ineptness. Reflecting on the years that have passed, you’ll find continued errors, wasted opportunities and failure to learn from previous mistakes. The Bears have passed on franchise-altering talent since its conception. Here’s a short list of the available missed players in the past 15 years:
- Patrick Mahomes (Bears selected Mitch Trubisky)
- Jalen Hurts (Bears selected Jaylon Johnson)
- Lamar Jackson (Bears selected Roquan Smith)
- Fred Warner (Bears selected Anthony Miller)
- Micah Parsons (Bears selected Justin Fields)
- Alvin Kamara (Bears selected Adam Shaheen)
- Maxx Crosby (Bears selected Riley Ridley)
- Derrick Henry (Bears selected Leonard Floyd)
- Tyreek Hill (Bears selected Jordan Howard)
- Stefon Diggs (Bears selected Adrian Amos)
- Davante Adams (Bears selected Kyle Fuller)
- Zack Martin (Bears selected Ego Ferguson)
- Deandre Hopkins (Bears selected Kyle Long)
- Travis Kelce (Bears selected Johnathan Bostic)
- Kyle Juszczyk (Bears selected Kasheem Greene)
- Harrison Smith (Bears selected Shea McClellin)
- Bobby Wagner (Bears selected Alshon Jeffery)
- Kirk Cousins (Bears Selected Brandon Hardin)
- Cameron Hayward (Bears selected Gabe Carimi)
- Jason Kelce (Bears selected Nathan Enderle)
- Geno Atkins (Bears Selected Corey Wootton)
- Antonio Brown (Bears Selected Dan LeFevour)
- Pat McAfee (Bears Selected Marcus Freeman)
- Julian Edelman (Bears selected Al Afalava)
Now granted, some of those picks actually worked out. Smith and Johnson ended up being all-pros. However, a majority of them were lackluster, to say the least, and you can thank the likes of Jerry Angelo, Phil Emery and Ryan Pace for those decisions.
So why now are the Bears the topic of discussion? Because they are on the cusp of winning (but can’t get over the hump). In 2022 they hired Ryan Poles, the former executive director of player personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs. So far in Poles’s tenure as general manager, he has managed to acquire strong draft capital. His franchise-altering move was in March of 2023. Poles dealt the first overall pick in the draft to the Carolina Panthers for the ninth overall pick, the 61st overall pick, 2024 first-round pick, 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver D.J. Moore.
Since that trade, the Bears strived to trend upward, but unfortunately, the bad news Bears struck again. Young quarterback Justin Fields didn’t show enough improvement to make a claim for the starting job. So with that, Chicago had to move on. They traded Fields to the Steelers for a late-round pick. Luckily, they had the first overall pick (from Carolina) and fortunately, there was a fairly talented quarterback in the upcoming class: University of Southern California’s Heisman winner Caleb Williams with the first overall pick.
They additionally held the ninth pick (their own) and saw that Williams needed a red-zone target, so they drafted University of Washington’s wide receiver Rome Odunze to pair with the rookie quarterback. Before the draft, Poles made a splash of acquisitions. Trading a fourth-round pick for six-time pro bowler Keenan Allen. Signing pro bowler Deandre Swift to a three-year contract, signing two-time all-pro safety Kevin Byard to a two-year deal and signing former second-round pick Gerald Everett to a two-year agreement.
This all leads up to Williams having one of the greatest starting lineups a rookie quarterback has ever had, and so far this offense has sputtered. More than halfway through the season, Williams has only put up over 1,600 yards, nine touchdowns, five interceptions and a completion percentage of just 61.4 percent. That’s not exactly first overall pick numbers, but that’s not an instant bust.
With those numbers in mind, questions remain. Can Williams lead this offense? Perhaps, but he needs time to get acclimated to the team’s culture. He tries to extend plays, often leading to mistakes. He still plays like he’s in college; he needs to adjust to NFL temp. You can’t plug in a rookie and expect a Super Bowl. Also, is the Bears’ defense strong enough to win the NFC North? No, it isn’t. However they have a very elite group that will pressure the quarterback into interceptions.
Defensive lineman Montez Sweat and Darrell Taylor can bring the heat at a moment’s notice. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds are great hybrid defenders, being elite in both coverage and in rushing. The secondary is a force to be reckoned with, the likes of Kevin Byard, Jaylon Johnson and Jaquan Brisker on the back end. Quarterbacks need to watch for where the all-pros are lurking.
So should Bears fans be excited? Yes, absolutely. This is the most exciting quarterback since Sid Luckman during the 1940’s. But don’t expect a quarterback you passed on seven years ago. Perhaps expect more than a quarterback you drafted three years ago.