John McClain has covered NFL football for almost 50 years. He’s one of the most respected insiders in the business. It’s rather fitting his retirement saw probably one of the craziest Houston Texans seasons he has ever witnessed. Keep in mind this guy covered the 1993 Oilers and the Deshaun Watson fiasco. Yet, from how he speaks, what happened down the stretch of 2022 is one for the history books. He believes the Chicago Bears should never have landed the #1 pick and still struggles to understand how the Texans blew it.
They have nobody to blame but themselves. Ownership set things up for disaster when they made it pretty obvious they’d be moving on from Lovie Smith after one season. Then they double down on that mistake by keeping Smith employed through the rest of the year despite the race for the #1 pick being far from decided. Sure enough, the head coach pulled off an upset of the Tennessee Titans in December, setting up a decisive game in Indianapolis. A win would hand Chicago the top pick. After a wild 4th quarter, Houston pulled it out 32-31. Apparently, many inside the Texans’ building were furious about the result.
That is probably why Smith was fired seven hours after the game ended. McClain painted a picture on Football Night in Chicago of why this result was so disastrous for them and perfect for the Bears. Now it forces Houston to fight other teams for their QB of choice. Not only that, but one of them is a hated division rival.
The Chicago Bears have so much leverage.
It would be one thing if any other team held the #4 pick. For it to be the Colts is a worst-case scenario for Houston. Everybody knows Indianapolis is seeking a quarterback, and they won’t be going the veteran route. That idea is dead after the Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan disasters. If they become infatuated with any of the top quarterbacks in this class, they’ll be motivated like hell to move up and get them because they don’t want to run the risk of them landing in Houston. Then Indy would have to play against them twice a year.
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It’s the same issue for the Texans. If they happen to like the same quarterback as the Colts, then they have two choices. Either they let their rivals jump to #1 or make a deal with the Chicago Bears to swap spots. That creates a bidding war, and a bidding war drives the price up. Nobody is happier about that than GM Ryan Poles. McClain already has a good sense of what is coming. Once the Senior Bowl and scouting combine pass, the real discussions should begin. Everybody feels certain the market for #1 will be fierce. Chicago should make out with a king’s ransom if they decide to move.
Fear not, the Bears will screw it up. They always have. Pooles showed nothing by trading the first pick in the second round for a very quesitonable receiver. He aliented Smith who just signed the same deal with the Ravens he offered the Bears and made all pro leading the league in tackles. If the Bears can’t use him, they need a new DC. And Fields did not run the offense, he was the offense. Everyone knows he can run, no one knows if he can really throw.
seems like 3 months before Christmas and Im 8 years old again. Except this time Daddy has a load cash.
All these scenarios, and there will be hundreds more. Be patient, wait, scout, be ready.
@Dean we weren’t the only team to pass on Mahomes. He was drafted 10th. T.J. Watt was drafted 30th. We missed on some great players but we weren’t the only ones. But some people still think we should just pick a small linebacker #1.
I was just thinking exactly what butler741 posted. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Houston gets so panicked they give both their 1st’s? Then the Bears trade down again with Indy?
Normally I would say impossible. No one is that stupid. But Houston is a mess right now with some seriously wacko leadership. So I wouldn’t put anything past them.
Probably won’t but oh my. I will be laughing my rear end off all year if that happens. That would be as crazy as someone giving up picks to get Trubisky instead of Mahomes. Ha ha ha… oh… wait… damn.
😀