Mitch Trubisky has endured a ton of heat from critics over the past year. Being a #2 overall pick, he knew about the expectations when he was drafted. When he had a somewhat bland and uninspiring rookie season, people jumped on him about it. They called out the Chicago Bears. Why didn’t they take Deshaun Watson? Why didn’t they take Patrick Mahomes? Two guys who were more experienced and ready for the NFL.
It’s easy to say that with the benefit of hindsight. Can anybody say for certain those two QBs would’ve done much better with the circumstances Trubisky had to deal with? No. Still, there is one persistent issue at play here. That’s his progression. Some would seem to think that Trubisky isn’t improving at a fast enough rate.
Sure he had a fantastic game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, but that was against the worst defense in the league. When will he be truly great? First off, only time answers that question. Players develop at different speeds. It’s a fact of life in sports. Second, Trubisky’s supposed slow progression isn’t as glacial as some try to make it seem.
Mitch Trubisky is right on line with other top 5 QBs in previous drafts
Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times found a great stat to help put in perspective where the young Bears QB currently sits. He compared Trubisky’s first 16 starts to prior quarterbacks drafted in the top five the past couple of years. Most would assume it looks kind of ugly, right? Turns out that’s not true at all.
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“Eight quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2015-17 drafts. Five — the Rams’ Jared Goff, the Eagles’ Carson Wentz, the Buccaneers’ Jameis Winston, the Titans’ Marcus Mariota and Trubisky — have made at least 16 starts.
Compared with the other four quarterbacks’ first 16 starts, Trubisky ranks last with 3,138 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes. His 10 interceptions, however, are the fewest among the five, and his 84.3 passer rating ranks third.
After the Bears’ 3-1 start, Trubisky has a career record of 7-9. Goff and Wentz also won seven of their first 16 games, with Winston and Mariota winning fewer.”
Would people like more touchdowns and yards? Of course. The thing is this is where team circumstances come in. The other quarterbacks listed had more favorable situations at wide receiver than Trubisky did when he finally got on the field. Winston had Mike Evans. Mariota had Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker. Wentz had Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews. Even Goff had the enigmatic but talented Kenny Britt.
Trubisky? He had Kendall Wright, who is not currently on a roster. It was always about waiting for him to gain experience and actually have weapons around him. Now that the Bears have done this, he’s showing signs of elevated play. Meanwhile, all the names listed above save for Goff are struggling of late.
So maybe it’s time to appreciate how far Trubisky has come.
