The Chicago Bears could tank for Trevor Lawrence
Realistically, it’s next to impossible to see a scenario where Chicago tanks enough to draft Trevor Lawrence. Even if this team somehow went on to lose the rest of their games, they wouldn’t be able to out-bad the Jets or the Jaguars.
So this puts Chicago in a sticky area. They don’t have any cap space to make significant offseason additions and they likely won’t have a home-run first-round draft pick. That being said, it’s hard to see the same team that we’ve watched lose four straight go on to win a super bowl, so what’s the point in even trying to make a playoff push?
So while the Jets and Jaguars will likely pick the big-name quarterbacks in Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, Chicago’s options actually open up quite a bit. While the Bears have not given any indication that they can find a competent quarterback, they still have a strong defense for a couple of years.
If Zach Wilson or Mac Jones are available, Pace should draft them. If not, he should use multiple early-round picks to take offensive linemen. Let’s be honest, you could put Patrick Mahomes on this team and he’d probably put up pedestrian numbers. The offensive struggles aren’t a result of the quarterback, rather the result of an offensive line that can’t give either guy any time.
A strong quarterback would help, but Chicago shouldn’t reach. If they can get one of the top guys, go for it. If not, they should get offensive linemen early and try to find a Dak Prescott-like steal while playing safe football in 2021.