Chicago Bears: Five quarterbacks the team must scout for the 2021 NFL Draft

Early Round Options

Jamie Newman, Georgia

One of my favorite college players to watch, Jamie Newman started his career at Wake Forest. In 2019, as the full-time starter, he completed just over 60% of his passes for nearly 3,000 yards and a 26:11 touchdown to interception ratio. He was also a threat on the ground, rushing for almost 600 yards and adding six touchdowns.

While these numbers don’t exactly pop off the page, the level of talent he had on his team and the competition of opponents he was up against must be taken into consideration. Understandably, his best games came against the weaker teams on the schedule. Against non-conference opponents in 2019, he completed 75.7 percent of his passes and threw for 11 touchdowns versus just one interception. Against conference opponents, he did not enjoy the same level of success. He completed only 54% of his passes for 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

This off-season, he announced he would be transferring to Georgia for his final year of eligibility and the uptick in talent he will have around him will hopefully allow him to not only improve his stats against better competition but also simply become a more polished prospect.

Newman has all the physical attributes standing at nearly 6’4″ and around 230 pounds and one of the strongest arms in the draft. He will likely remind scouts of DeShone Kizer coming out of college, but with an extra year to improve his game.

Trey Lance, North Dakota State

Do we have another Carson Wentz on our hands? It is completely possible with the way Trey Lance performed during his redshirt sophomore season. Long are the days that scouts will scoff at competition level when a prospect displays elite ability.

Much like Newman, Lance can beat you with both his arm and legs. However, what Lance showed last year that Newman did not was how well he protects the football. While leading the North Dakota State Bison to another FCS National Championship, Lance threw for 28 touchdowns and rushed for an additional 14 scores. He also did not throw an interception the entire season.

In his second year as the starter coming up in 2020, Lance will look to once again prove he can put up incredible numbers while not turning the football over. If he does, we could see him skyrocket up draft boards — although some mock drafts already have him going in the top 10. He also might need to do some minor tweaking to his mechanics. In the little film I watched, his arm action looked a tad long. However, he has the size, arm strength and dual-threat ability the NFL covets.