Chicago Bears draft history is mixed with all sorts of big hits and big misses. Yet another who knows baseball will admit the toughest ones to watch are the near-misses. Where it looks like the batter has a pitch dead to right and gives a might cut at it, only to miss the center by a quarter inch, leading to a long fly out or a hard chopper on the ground. A minor adjustment up or down and the ball is probably learning what life is like outside the stadium.
In a football context, GMs feel that exact emotion during the draft. Specifically in regards to whenever they miss out on a player they know could be great by nothing more than a single draft slot or the misguided decision to trade a pick away that becomes a better player than the one it was used to acquire. The Bears have been victims of this more often than people might care to remember.
Here are the ones that stand out the most. Almost picks that could’ve altered the course of franchise history.
Chicago Bears draft near-misses:
Terry Bradshaw (1970)
History has never been kind to the Bears when it comes to leaving things to chance. It always feels like the fortunes of football turn against them when that happens. Never was this clearer than in 1970. The Bears just had their worst season in franchise history, going 1-13 the previous year. The one consolation prize was they might end up with the 1st overall pick.
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Everybody knew the top prospect was cannon-armed quarterback Terry Bradshaw out of Louisiana Tech. Though raw, his talent was enough to turn the fortune of a franchise. The Bears hadn’t had good quarterback play in years by that point. He might be the guy who gets them pointed in the right direction. All they had to do was win a coin flip against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’d also finished 1-13.
Unfortunately Ed McCaskey called the flip wrong. Pittsburgh got the pick, got Bradshaw and went on to win four Super Bowls. The Bears wouldn’t even make the playoffs until 1977.
Clay Matthews (1978)
This is one a lot of people don’t remember. Late Bears GM Jim Finks made a lot of right decisions in his career, but his 1978 offseason was easily his worst in Chicago. It started the year before. Finks felt the team needed help at quarterback. Somebody who could ease the pressure on superstar running back Walter Payton. His solution was to trade for Mike Phipps from Cleveland.
The former 3rd overall pick had floundered with the Browns but Finks seemed to believe a fresh start might reawaken the magic he had in college. He even gave up the teams’ 1st round pick in the ’78 draft to get him. The Bears would be disappointed. Phipps showed little improvement from his time in Cleveland. His career high point was throwing two interceptions in a playoff loss to Philadelphia in 1979.
That pick? It ended up becoming linebacker Clay Matthews. This is important because the four-time Pro Bowler became one of the more prominent pass-rushing linebackers in the league during the 1980s. Something Buddy Ryan almost certainly would’ve taken advantage of in that 46 defense.
Charles Woodson (1998)
Mark Hatley always had an eye for defensive talent during his time in charge of the Bears draft room. One can imagine he would’ve jumped at the chance to grab Charles Woodson in 1998. The Michigan cornerback was the only defender to ever win the Heisman. A lockdown man in coverage with game-breaking ability. Chicago had the 5th pick. Their odds seemed good.
Unfortunately, Al Davis got in the way. The late Oakland Raiders owner always had a soft spot for man cover corners. So there was no way he was going to pass on Woodson at #4 overall. This forced the Bears to look elsewhere for their next franchise player. The man they ended up with was Penn State running back Curtis Enis. Today he is remembered as one of the biggest busts in team history.
Woodson ended up with nine Pro Bowls, 65 interceptions, a Defensive Player of the Year award and a Super Bowl ring in Green Bay. Try to imagine what would’ve happened to the Bears defense if he’d been there when Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown arrived in 2000.
Andre Johnson (2003)
Stop for a second and just imagine. What would the 2006 Bears Super Bowl team have looked like if it had Andre Johnson on the roster? They almost had a chance to five out. GM Jerry Angelo held the 4th overall pick. His previous high receiver draft choice in David Terrell had been a bust. Johnson though had starred at Miami and looked like a can’t-miss.
The Houston Texans got there first though. They scooped Johnson up at #3. A few minutes later the Bears decided to trade down from #4. Eventually, they collected the 14th and 22nd picks in the 1st round. Those became Penn State defensive end Michael Haynes and Florida quarterback Rex Grossman. Neither of whom had standout careers in Chicago.
It’s crazy to think the Bears came one slot away from going Johnson, Charles Tillman, and Lance Briggs in three-straight picks. That would been a draft for the ages and quite possibly have changed their championship fortunes. Is it any coincidence Johnson failed to ever capture a ring himself?
Aaron Donald (2014)
This probably the one modern fans lament the most these days. Anybody with eyes could tell that Aaron Donald had a chance to be a superstar at the next level. All he had to do was land in the right defense. One that allowed him to play inside and rush the passer. His gifts for this were unique and something unseen since the days of John Randle back in the 1990s.
The Bears were one team that seemed like such an obvious fit. They’d had great defenses with the likes of Tommie Harris and then Henry Melton. So they knew the type of impact player Donald could be. Thanks to his shorter size, they felt there was a good chance they could get him too at the 14th pick. What they failed to recognize way too late is the team in front of them had the same defensive scheme.
The Los Angeles Rams grabbed Donald at #13 overall. Since then the defensive tackle has produced 69.5 sacks, is a four-time All-Pro and won two Defensive Player of the Year awards. Chicago ended up with Kyle Fuller, who has become a very good player himself but it’s hard not to wonder how different things might be had Donald fallen one more spot.
Leonard Williams (2015)
Due to the Bears missing out on Donald, people often forget they endured the same exact scenario the next year. Leonard Williams was another standout defensive lineman from USC. A beast with strength and quickness that made him a fit for any defense. Chicago had just signed Vic Fangio to be their next defensive coordinator. He’d have known exactly what to do with Williams.
Again though, another team with a similar defense got in the way. The New York Jets took Williams with the 6th overall pick. The Bears, at #7, went with Kevin White instead. Williams went on to become a Pro Bowler in New York and one of the most consistently effective defensive linemen in the AFC. White suffered through countless injuries.
It’s hard not to think about it even now. If the Bears had taken Eddie Goldman as they would in the 2nd round, they would’ve had him and Williams by the start of 2016 when Akiem Hicks arrived via free agency. That could’ve created one of the most frightening defensive fronts in the NFL.
