The 2020 NFL Draft is just two weeks away, and for the second straight season, the Chicago Bears will be without a first-round pick. From 2015 to 2018, Chicago held a top-ten pick for four consecutive years. Of the four picks, only one has made a Pro-Bowl with two others no longer being on the roster. Although it has been bad, it pales in comparison to how bad it was for the team 20 years ago.
It started in 1997 when then-general manager Mark Hatley traded the team's first-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Rick Mirer. Mirer had been with the Seahawks for four seasons in which he never had more than 13 touchdown passes and never had a completion percentage higher than 56.4. To make matters worse, the Bears signed him to a 3-year extension worth 11 million dollars.
The pick Chicago traded away was the 11th overall selection in the 1997 Draft. It is important to remember because running back Warrick Dunn and Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez were drafted with the following selections. The trade would prove even more costly as Chicago would draft tight end John Allred in the second round. The Bears received no production from the tight end position in 1996 and were in dire need of a playmaking tight end. Mirer would play in only seven games in 1997 and was a massive failure as a starter for the Bears.
Due to a four-win season in 1997, the Bears held the fifth overall in the 1998 NFL Draft. Chicago could have had the number one overall selection had they not won two of their last three games in 1997. Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning would be the first player drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. The Bears would draft running back Curtis Enis from Penn State.
Enis was a bust, not due to a lack of talent, but due to severe bad luck with injuries. Although he held out during training camp, the rookie running back was productive in 1998 before suffering a season-ending knee injury in week 9. In 1999, Enis was close to eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark but suffered another severe knee injury in week 16 against the Rams. He would play sparingly in 2000, but the knee injuries had robbed him of his talent.
Following another four-win season in 1998, the team would hold the fifth overall pick again but traded back seven-spots to accumulate more picks. In a draft where five quarterbacks were drafted with the first 11 selections, Chicago would select quarterback Cade McNown from UCLA. McNown was viewed as the safest quarterback in the draft and did perform well as a rookie. He threw eight touchdown passes and proved to be a dual-threat quarterback.
For the talent McNown showed on the field, he severely lacked the mental makeup needed from a quarterback. What was regarded as moxie by the media and fans early in his rookie season was later revealed as arrogance. As his second season progressed, McNown's performance decreased, but even worse, he alienated himself from the entire locker room. Leading up to the team's final game of the 2000 season, players asked then-head coach Dick Jauron not to play him. Following the season, McNown was traded to Miami for a late-round selection.
The one shining light of the Bears' drafts during this time came in the 2000 NFL Draft when the team selected linebacker Brian Urlacher ninth overall. Urlacher would be the team's lone Pro-Bowl player in 2000 and was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He would go on to lead the team to a Super Bowl, two NFC Championship games, and would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
In 2001, the draft failures would continue as the team selected wide receiver David Terrell eighth overall. Terrell would catch only nine touchdowns in four seasons with the team. He struggled to produce in the final two seasons, as he consistently dropped passes later in his Bears career. The decision was made worse as the team passed on Pro-Bowl receivers, including Santana Moss and Koren Robinson.
From 1997 to 2001, Chicago failed to capitalize on their draft capital outside of drafting Urlacher. Where Chicago ended up with Mirer, Enis, and McNown, they could have had Hall of Fame and All-Pro offensive talents. Given Ryan Pace's struggles with first-round picks, his selections have not been as costly as what was seen by former general managers Mark Hatley and Jerry Angelo.
