The Chicago Bears appeared to reach their decision at quarterback around March of this year, once their evaluations were done and they’d met with Caleb Williams. However, with Jayden Daniels off to a historic start in Washington, some can’t help but wonder if the Bears made the same mistake they did with Mitch Trubisky in 2017. They became too infatuated with one quarterback and didn’t do their due diligence in evaluating the other top options in the class. Is this Patrick Mahomes all over again?
Head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about this in advance of the Bears’ visit to Washington for a big-time matchup with the Commanders. Did they evaluate Daniels thoroughly and were they high on him? Eberflus set the record straight.
“Yeah, no question. He is a talent, a big talent as you can see that in the first part of the games. He’s got a real good future ahead of him. You can certainly see how he reads the field, how he sees, his vision, his anticipation, his accuracy, his ability to escape when he needs to, his ability to do the QB runs if they ask him to do that, athleticism. He’s a big talent.”
Jayden Daniels had some key red flags that likely scared Bears away.
Chief among them was his body type. Though an incredible athlete with speed for days, he also has a thinner build. That led many to wonder if he could hold up to the types of hits he would experience in the NFL. Injuries dotted his college career. Quarterback availability has been a constant issue for the Bears going back years. Only three times since 1990 has somebody started a full season for them. Justin Fields endured plenty of injuries across his three years, and Poles and Eberflus probably didn’t want to experience more of that with Jayden Daniels. The fact the #2 pick is already dealing with a rib injury reinforces that sentiment. Given how Williams has played lately, there is zero regret with the decision.
Chicago may not even see the NFL’s newest darling next week. If not, the Bears are in a premium position to upset Washington on the road and get to 5-2. One can imagine Williams would regret not being able to prove himself against his new rival.
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The answer, in case anyone was unable to parse through Lambert’s incoherent rambling, is no. They had the number one over all pick and not only did Poles not seriously shop the pick, he refused, out of hand, to even thoroughly evaluate the QB class that he was determined to pick from. This was malpractice in league with the team president trying to force a stadium on the lakefront. Even if Williams ends up in Canton this is still malpractice. If your surgeon decides to perform your gastrectomy with a blindfold on and you somehow manage to survive, that doesn’t… Read more »
It’s a pity that Daniels is hurt. I would’ve liked to see him and Williams mano-a-mano. That said, how many people are really surprised that Daniels is already injured?
I mean, we all knew this was coming, right?
I was on the JF1 train until he was traded. After the trade, I was all in on Jayden Daniels over Caleb, for his accuracy on the deep ball and scrambling abilities.
I went back and fourth with BC30 about it, thinking Poles would take the haul for #1 spot and draft Daniels at #2. We even had a beer in the metaverse, after I had to eat my words. Once Caleb was a Bear, I was sold.
So damn glad I’m retired and not the Bear’s GM!
Bear Down fellas!
I’m sure they considered Jayden but in the end, the Bears got the quarterback they felt was the best fit for the organization. I’m still a fan of Justin Fields and didn’t want to see him go but at this point, It’s difficult to disagree with the decision. Caleb is the real deal and only scratching the surface. I can’t wait to see what his ceiling is going to be. Go QB18 and go Bears.
Agree with almost all posters, in that this is declaring the winner of the Indy 500 after one lap. Let’s see how careers play out. Coming out, I liked Williams most, I thought Maye was good, but not to the level of Williams, and I worried about Daniels, mainly because he only had one good year, and did it with the #2 and #4 overall wideouts (draft positions). A big question for me was ‘Were the WRs good because of Daniels, or was Daniels good because of the WRs?’ Hard to say from my vantage as a fan with a… Read more »