As speculation swirls around Ryan Pace’s decision to take UNC quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick, reports are starting to leak about the level of interest he was truly generating on the market.
It has already been reported that the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs were interested in trading with San Francisco for the number two pick. That’s the very reason why fans are justifying Pace’s choice to trade up and fork over multiple draft picks to the 49ers for the number two spot.
Today, another report surfaced out of Tennessee.
Titans General Manager Jon Robinson said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that Tennessee was fielding calls at No. 5 from teams that wanted to trade up. But when the Bears moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 and took Trubisky, everyone stopped calling the Titans.
“We had some calls about pick No. 5,” Robinson said. “When the trade happened between San Francisco and Chicago, it kinda threw water on anything in that spot.”
These comments suggest the the Chicago Bears, and Pace, were not alone having Trubisky ranked number one on their draft boards.
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Cleveland’s interest was obvious, Trubisky is from Ohio and reports leaked that he almost went number one overall.
Kansas City’s need for a quarterback is well known, their move to trade up for Patrick Mahomes proves they were in the market. The rumor of their interest at number two would make you believe Trubisky was also higher on their board.
Now, the Titans GM is on record saying Tennessee was getting calls from even more teams and they all stopped after the Bears made their move.
The widespread criticism of Pace’s decision to trade up for Trubisky has plagued the national media. Piecing this together gives you insight on what other NFL GMs were thinking. It’s clear Trubisky was considered a coveted asset, think twice before you criticize Chicago for winning the race to get him.
Bear down.
