The Chicago Bears were absent from the 1st round action of the NFL draft for the third time since 2019. They missed out on a wild night with several trades flying all over the place and tons of surprise picks. As usual, experts gave every move grades, explaining why they felt each was good or bad. Some teams got universal praise this year, like the Baltimore Ravens, while others got hammered for their decision, like the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.
Chad Reuter has been a mainstay of NFL.com for years. He is one of their most respected draft experts. He delivered his draft grades after Thursday night with a surprise twist. Even the teams that didn’t actually pick in the 1st round got grades too. The Bears were included. He gave them an A. His reasoning was simple. Their aggressive move to get Justin Fields last year was worth the sacrifice, provided the new regime can build around him properly.
“The Bears did not have a first-round pick this year because they moved up in the 2021 draft for quarterback Justin Fields. That deal made sense, even though the team’s lack of success last season resulted in the Giants getting a top-10 selection. Fields has a chance to be a very good starting quarterback if new GM Ryan Poles surrounds him with better talent.”
A fair argument.
People were down on the 2022 quarterback class from the beginning. That was hammered home on Thursday when only one of them managed to go in the 1st round. Kenny Pickett landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 20th overall. This makes the Chicago Bears’ decision to go get Fields last year look even smarter. Imagine if they came into this draft still needing a quarterback. Sure, question marks remain with him, but it’s still infinitely preferable having him to needing a QB going into this weekend.
The New York Giants ended up with wide receiver Kadarius Toney and offensive tackle Evan Neal as a result of that trade. Both players could end up being really good, but it doesn’t erase the fact they still have significant question marks at quarterback. Daniel Jones didn’t have his 5th-year option picked up and faces many doubts about his future. If Fields ends up working out for the Bears, nobody will remember them having no 1st round pick in this draft.
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