The Bears have officially missed Wentz-wagon, leaving a huge question mark on who will be taking snaps under center. Yes, the Bears could franchise tag Mitch Trubisky or go back to Nick Foles, but neither makes much sense. To move forward with either QB would be a lateral move that would leave them at another 8-8 season, at best. Lucky for the Bears they might have a great QB fall right into their laps at the 2021 draft.
Trey Lance of North Dakota State could become the best QB in the 2021 draft class. He only played in one game this season (15-30 149YDS 2TD 1INT 15RATT 143YDS 2TD) and opted to sit out the remainder of the season. Yes, he only played one game but what he did in his sophomore season is what has NFL teams salivating. Lance threw for 2,786YDS 28TD 0INT and ran for 1,100YDS 14TD. These numbers are just insane, and the Bears would be stupid not to take him if he fell to them at #20. to focus on the draft.
The thoughts of the Bears finally having a franchise QB to build around for the first time sounds divine, but there is no guarantee that he will fall to #20. Before the college football season started, Lance was considered the second-best QB prospect, behind Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is almost sure to be the first QB to be drafted, but Lance has been ranked between two and five.
Every team ranks differently to account for the system they run and to account for intangibles, so the Bears need to do their jobs and stay diligent in their draft research if they want a chance to grab him. This can be an opportunity for GM Ryan Pace to redeem himself for the 2017 draft when he moved up a spot to take QB Mitch Trubisky over QB’s Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. I have zero faith that the Bears as an organization are competent enough to make this move successfully without collateral damage. But if they pull it off, I believe Lance will be the prize piece for this franchise that needs a franchise QB.
Next week, I will check out some other opportunities for the Bears’ first-round draft pick.