Why? That is the same question rolling through the minds of Chicago Bears fans these days. Why did their team choose Mitch Trubisky as their quarterback of the future in 2017 when it was obvious that Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were the more proven products? There are a number of explanations. The most common is Trubisky’s impressive skill set and personality. He was a competitive kid with a great work ethic who had a good arm and loads of athleticism.
If a team could team him how to be a pocket passer, he had the potential to become a star. Nobody debated that ahead of the draft in 2017. However, there were a number of voices out there who urged caution. Amidst the intrigue of the physical skills and temperament was a persistent warning sign. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune spoke to a national NFL scout about the entire Trubisky situation. He said one of the biggest things the Bears ignored was the QB’s inability to win the starting job at North Carolina.
“I really liked all the traits, but I had a problem with a quarterback that couldn’t beat out a guy (Marquise Williams) that was on the street the next year,” the scout said. “Their head coach (Larry Fedora) was telling you something, and guys don’t listen. It’s like: ‘Oh, we can make him better. We can improve him. We can always do this and that.’
“These college coaches, they get paid too. They know what the hell they are doing. That was the problem that I had.”
Mitch Trubisky failed to beat out an NFL washout
This was indeed one of the most worrisome aspects of Trubisky’s evaluation process back in 2016. By rights, given his obvious talent superiority, he should’ve convinced the North Carolina coaching staff that he was the rightful starting quarterback in 2015. It was obvious to everybody that Williams was not a future NFL starter. He didn’t even receive an invitation to the scouting combine after the season ended. Yet it didn’t matter. Fedora elected to keep him as their starter.
The Tarheels finished 11-3 with Williams accounting for 38 total touchdowns and over 4,000 yards of offense. The next year with almost the exact same offensive personnel in place, Trubisky managed 35 touchdowns and just over 4,000 yards of offense while going 8-5. That should’ve been a red flag. The fact that he wasn’t able to elevate the offense upon taking over as the starter.
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This is another reminder of how difficult the evaluation of quarterbacks is. Teams get so in-depth with their work that sometimes they lose sight of the more obvious alarm bells. Egos get in the way. If I just get the right system in place with the right coach, this kid will become what he should be. The scout though is exactly right. College coaches get paid to win just like they do. If they don’t feel that player is good enough to do that over a clearly inferior talent, it’s a problem.
One the Bears have realized far too late.
