DABEARSDABOMB

I watched the game and my view of the game was even more convinced to move away from Fields. I just don't think he plays within the confines of the offense. With that said - he is physically the most dynamic QB in the league. Him and Josh Allen to me are the two most physically superior QB's in the NFL. So I get if the Bears just want to bet on the physical and leadership qualities that Justin has and figure the rest of the game will come to him. To be honest - the Bears having the #1 pick is what makes this hard. If the Bears didn't have the 2 picks or were picking at 8 and 14 - I would be pretty square in the camp of stick with Flus & Fields and just keep adding talent. But when you have the #1 overall pick - you have to ask - do I go QB. And if I go QB - than I probably need to change HC so I align the HC and QB's clock (doing otherwise is a mistake). In reality - I think the Bears are in a win-win situation as long as they draft well. Scenario 1: Keep Fields - Trade #1 for Top 10 #1 in '24, Next Year #1, '24 2nd Rounder, '25 2nd Rounder, & 1 Blue Chip Player (or a '26 1st rounder). In this scenario - continue to build a very good football team around the QB. Just watching that Eagles / Cowboys game - Dak and Hurts are good (and how good is a debate we can have) - but they have a TON of talent around them. Both have strong olines and historically good rushing attacks - they also have deep wide receiving corps (their WR room is 3X the Bears room - which at this point is basically Moore and everyone else). Cowboys have Cedee, Gallup, Cooks plus a strong TE. Eagles have good TE play, AJ Brown, Devontae Smith, etc. Both teams have good defenses too. 1st Round: You draft a blue chip wide out (potentially you are talking about MHJ still depending on how much you move back) and draft an olinemen (or double down on weapons). Or you draft a 3 Tech and an Olinemen and draft a wideout in Rd2 and spend money on Tee Higgins and the Vikings Dlinemen. Or the blue chipper you get on the Line is a Max Crosby via a trade with the Raiders. Free Agency: Resign JJ & Sign a couple impact players - think Tee Higgins, Vikings Dlinemen, FA center Rest of the Draft: Best available - continue to build depth - try to identify a young center prospect and a safety to replace Jackson. Scenario 2: Draft QB @ #1 overall - Pick Playmaker or Oline with other Bears pick. Trade Fields to Raiders, Seahawks, Falcons or anyone else and ideally get 2 2nd Rounders. Hire new coaching staff. In this scenario - you still have the goal of building best football team, but now you reset the QB clock and are actually handing over a decent set of keys to your rookie QB. This isn't trading the farm and putting the rookie QB in a terrible situation with a poor line, no skill talent, etc. This is very much the opposite. Reality is the bulk of my off-season would stay the course of the above scenario - other than I'd probably be a bit more aggressive to sign more blue-chip players via free agency, however, there is a balancing act here as we will have hired a new coaching staff which means there will be more turnover. Yes the defense is trending favorably - but a new HC will have new people and new philosophies. Some players will fit, some won't. Turnover will definitely happen - it always does - new coaches have new favorites and use certain players to send examples. This gives you another shot at getting a true franchise QB (I'm not there yet with Fields) vs. just a good or solid QB (which right now is the most I would be willing to bet on Fields becoming). Quite frankly - I feel very good about either scenario. I still lean to Scenario 2 - because I just don't see Fields playing enough QB. But my god - if he does make progress, heck, even if he doesn't make progress, if having more weapons and better talent around him makes it easier for him to make the "vanilla" plays all while adding more dynamic weapons to maximize his playmaking ability (both the deep ball and his ability to run) - than in some ways that alone changes the game. Trend: My trend was squarely in the draft a QB camp a month+ ago. It has trended to being closer to 60/40 draft a QB at this point (so momentum has been trending more favorably towards Fields).

I think of it more from - when we make the trade - we should get a blue chip player as part of it and whether we are keeping Fields or not - we still have a couple years until his cost would become truly exorbitant - so we are still in a window where cap wise we can spend a bit more on guys like a Crosby (who are under contract). If we did it - hopefully it is for a blue chipper with a very fair deal (kind of like DJ Moore) - but I do agree it would probably be more likely it was someone on the other side of the ball (i.e defense / 3 tech). The alternative is - Bears get 3 1st rounders out of the trade out of #1 (which is certainly possible).

That was a fun game - defense has been so fun to watch. So well coached and the young players showing up! JJ is going to get paid - what a monster at db. Brisker. Sweat. Edmunds and Edwards.

Is it certain the Panthers will hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals and Pats?

There is no one with the film Williams has in my mind. His arm talent is special and he had tons of experience playing and had to deal with suspect olines etc. Mccarthy is the next in my mind from a pure talent perspective but he doesn’t have near the reps and lack of reps is a real issue for guys making the jump. Penix is a nice pocket passer but too slow of a release and just not athletic enough. Screams mac jones to me. He is also old. Bo Nix had to transfer and something seems off but I get the intrigue. He did well at Oregon this year. Daniels I haven’t watched enough to say anything. Maye looks the part but I haven’t seen the hype but haven’t watched him a ton either.

Echo what others said - I want everyone to stay. This is best forum for civilized bears talk on the planet and it’s because of all of us collectively. Re: Scs I might be completely wrong but I thought Adam might be scs and changed names but I could be wrong.

With Jones he has an out at the end of this next year - so giants are in a good spot. Murray is another situation though - tons of guaranteed money.

I agree with everything you said. Love is what he is. He is pretty solid at what he does, elite at almost nothing. I think that means he is what he is, a mediocre QB who can play above that within the right situation because the rest of the team can stack the cards in his favor. On the Fields front - I think he is similar - with the exception it is his elite talent and skillset that allows him to be a solid player, despite having some other simpler limitations. Both I think can be playoff QB's on good teams. I still think the upside of a Fields is higher, because the longer you play, the more some of those basic things should improve just due to the experience. I get that the elite athleticism will also decline - but Fields isn't just an elite athlete - his ability to throw downfield is really good and that shouldn't go away with age.

Great outcome.

I feel like if Arizona is at 2 - than they will take MHJ. Anyone other than them in top 2 and the top 2 picks with be a qb. Giants or Pats are taking a qb for sure and they will be in top 4. This means if Bears moved from 1 to take a qb - you pretty much know you are getting 4th best as giants and pats are going qb and the team who trades up to 1 would be as well.

Cardinals are not taking a qb. Too hard to with Murray there and his contract (plus he is looking part since coming back and was very good his first 3 years). Unless of course they traded Murray, their top 2 picks and a future 1st for the #1 (which I would probably do) but is crazy talk. The LsU wideout Naybors is who I would take if Bears went qb at 1 and than weapon with next pick. I think Naybors will be a total stud.

Lol

The whole narrative would be different.

I stick with - hire Harbaugh and get let’s start building a program. I would trust what he wants to do.

Lol

Why is Trubisky on this list?

I will also state I am all in on Harbaugh as the next coach. And if it isn’t Caleb Williams, McCarthy is who I am taking at QB.

Spot on - I think on offense center and wideout are two biggest priorities. I want another athletic guy who can emerge as a 1 to go with Moore. On defense - I want one more pass rush on the dline and an upgrade at safety for the aging Eddie Jackson. Those are my top 4 needs - excluding qb. All of those needs can absolutely be filled this offseason.

Excellent post and I agree with your assessment on Poles holding until draft day. Way more importantly - thoughts and prayers to you and your wife and she fights cancer. freak cancer!

The beauty is - the Bears can draft a QB and build a great team to support them because of the position Poles has this organization in. They added a blue chip oline prospect last year, added a blue chip dlinemen via trade, and we are sitting with what is highly likely one top 3 pick and another top 10 pick. And while we don't have a 2nd rounder - I fully expect if the Bears wanted to trade Fields, you could trade him to a team like the Raiders for say a 2nd rounder this year and a future 2nd (which would give us our own '25 2nd rounder plus the Panthers & Raiders). This is also a very strong and deep wideout draft - so while everyone loves MHJ, you can draft Caleb Williams and draft a top wideout too to pair with Kmet and Moore (plus Scott & just sign Mooney to like a 3yr 24M extension). You have FA money to use on a center (plus I presume they would use a later round pick on that) and you can continue to build up your dline (so the young QB should be coming to a team with a defense trending up). Bears could also sign Tee Higgins and opt to use the other Top 10 pick on an OT (or 3 tech) plus a QB. So they have the luxury of being able to build a quality football team AND use a high end pick on a high end QB prospect. This is a position the Bears haven't been in at any point in my lifetime.

I will stick with - I'll go with Caleb Williams. He has had a lot of adversity this year - but his numbers are still great and he had to do it with a pretty bad oline and constant pressure in his face He moves around and probably doesn't stay on script enough either - but he always has his eyes up and is using it to make plays. I also think this year he has went more that way vs. years before where he was more in the system because it wasn't constantly breaking down as much. But he can throw the slant, you see him use the middle of the field and his eyes are everywhere. I know he is short - but he is thick and looks a legit 6'1. This isn't someone listed at 6'1 but they are really 5'11/5'10. His body is thick too and that arm is a cannon and highly accurate. I also think in general Lincoln Riley coached QB's have been okay in this league and the kid has a TON of experience. I also will caveat - this Daniels guy has put up legit numbers, I presume the tools aren't there or something? JJ McCarthy just wins and seems to have some good tools too, could certainly be a nice fit with the 2nd of our 1st rounders.

I'll say this - I think the safest way to making the playoffs in the next 2 years is to keep Fields, trade down slightly from #1 (if you get it) and take best available Non QB and get more assets, and than continue to draft talent and build up the rest of the team. I think if Bears do that even remotely decently, this is a playoff team for the next 2 years. However - I think once you get to year 3 - you are either now looking yourselves in the mirror and are in a much tougher spot, cause you are now starting to pay Justin 50M per year and the talent around is not there and he isn't good enough to bring up the rest or you are moving on from Justin and basically starting back at square one looking for a QB (but now you aren't picking at the top of the draft and aren't in a position to get that QB without mortgaging the future). But I do think staying with Justin and continuing to stockpile talent everywhere else gets you into the playoffs the next 2 years. I don't think you win a superbowl in that timeframe - unless Fields becomes a top 7 guy and you really nailed it on the other picks. But again - that will quickly fleat unless he's the elite guy. With that said - taking a QB at 1/2 - the Bears ARE NOT going to make the playoffs next year - but the team could accelerate pretty quickly in the following year, but we are probably still going to be picking in the 5-15 range of the draft in '24, ideally you are in contention for a playoff spot in '25, and looking like a top team for years to come in '26. But I think those are the two timetables out there and if you are Poles - I get the pressure and desire of - hey, I go make the playoffs for a couple years, I have bought myself time to figure other things out and come up with new options. The in-between is to go with the make the playoffs, take a QB in round 2 (I bet you one of the guys will drop - just like Will Levis dropped this year). A QB in that round doesn't apply the same pressure to Fields and franhcise, but could earn that job in '25/'26 and put you in a better spot.

Fantastic post and the latter half is something I am speculating as well.

MHJ is great and all - but I am not using a #1 pick on a wideout. Or quite frankly any player other than a QB. So if I am not taking a QB, I am trading down.

It is a deep wide receiver draft - so yeah, they probably don't get MHJ, but there are some really really blue chip wideouts out there if that is the route they go and with the depth of QB's in this draft, you can also probably go QB and OT if you wanted to do that as well.