Amazing Facts Behind The Bears Mitch Trubisky Draft Pick

The Chicago Bears Mitch Trubisky pick was a momentous one to say the least. There is a reason nobody saw it coming. So much history went against the idea that this franchise would have the guts to take a quarterback that high in a draft. When it happened people actually seemed upset. Not because of the actual player selected, but because something expected had changed. People don't like change. Everybody and their mother thought the Bears would stick to the script. That meant taking the best possible defensive player available. Instead Ryan Pace did exactly what he was hired by the ownership to do:  something different. He traded up one spot to secure a quarterback. One they hope can be built around for the next decade to come. The thing is a lot of fans don't understand just how groundbreaking a move this is. So many amazing facts come out of it. In the interests of time though here are seven that stood out the most. [video width="400" height="480" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/33-Sid-Luckman-The-Top-100-NFL’s-Greatest-Players-2010-NFL-Films.mp4"][/video]

Bears have held #2 pick three times. All three were QBs

Traditionally the Bears are not a team that tends to hold a top three pick very often. The last time was 1972. To date the franchise has held the #2 overall pick a total of three times. What stands out about this is their utter consistency in each time they used it. Each of those picks ended up becoming a quarterback. In 1939 they selected Sid Luckman out of Columbia. Then in 1951 they plucked Bob Williams from Notre Dame. Trubisky makes the third-straight #2 pick made by Chicago at the quarterback position. [caption id="attachment_68097" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 09: Rex Grossman #8 of the Chicago Bears throws a pass against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field on November 9, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. The Titans won 21-14. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)[/caption]

The first QB taken in the 1st round since 2003

It's hard to win in the NFL when a team doesn't get serious about investing their highest draft picks at the most important position. The Bears are the poster children for this. Trubisky is the first quarterback they were willing to spend a first round pick on in 14 years. Not since 2003 when they grabbed Rex Grossman out of Florida had they been so bold. It's worth mentioning Grossman was taken by the second of two first rounders the Bears held that year, and only after a trade down. So even then they weren't treating it with proper respect. [caption id="attachment_70154" align="aligncenter" width="1050"] FILE - In this Jan. 26, 1986, file photo, Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon works the crowd as the Bears played the New England Patriots in NFL football's Super Bowl XX in New Orleans. The Bears won their first NFL championship since 1963 by setting a Super Bowl record for points scored in defeating the Patriots 46-10. (AP Photo/John Swart, File)[/caption]

The first QB taken top five in 35 years

Some context is needed here. Between 1983 and 2016 the Bears held a top five pick in the draft a total of three times. That was in 1998, 2003 and 2005. They selected running back Curtis Enis with the first, trade back to #14 with the second and took running back Cedric Benson with the third. For an idea of who they passed on? Brian Griese and Matt Hasselbeck were still on the board in '98. Byron Leftwich was still on the board in '03. Last but not least, Aaron Rodgers was still available in '05. That just makes the fact that the last Bears top five quarterback being selected 35 years ago sting all the more. [video width="400" height="480" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/46-Roger-Staubach-The-Top-100-NFLs-Greatest-Players-FlashbackFridays.mp4"][/video]

Trubisky comes from a rich QB lineage in Ohio

Ohio has become a state with deep football traditions. Some all-time greats have come from there. What many might not know is just how impressive a quarterback tradition it has. Several current and possible future Hall of Famers hail from the Buckeye state. The most recent is Ben Roethlisberger, who is wrapping up a tremendous career in Pittsburgh. There was also Dallas Cowboys icon Roger Staubach and the always-overlooked Len Dawson from Kansas City. All of them won championships and hold busts in Canton. Exciting as that sounds, it gets deeper. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrARcyFKynM

He's not the first Ohio QB the Bears drafted in the 1st round

As it turns the Bears have a history with drafting Ohio natives to play quarterback for them. Trubisky is actually the second to hold this honor. The first? None other than Jim Harbaugh. The former Michigan grad went to Chicago 27th overall in 1987. Care to get a little weirder. Brian Hoyer is another Ohio native who played snaps at QB for the Bears. To top it off, Matt Cavanaugh was a former quarterback who eventually became quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the Bears on two separate occasions. [video width="400" height="480" flv="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Chicago-Bears-defensive-end-Julius-Peppers-picks-Green-Bay-Packers-quarterback-Seneca-Wallace-NFL-Videos1.flv"][/video]

North Carolina has been good to Chicago in the past

Turns out the University of North Carolina has been generous to this city in years past. Of course most people know it was the place that spawned a young basketball player named Michael Jordan. He lead the Bulls to six NBA championships and forge perhaps the greatest basketball legacy of all-time. His former teammate, Scott Williams, was a valuable contributor on three of those teams and also a UNC grad. It doesn't stop there though. In 2010 the Bears signed Julius Peppers as a free agent. Another North Carolina alum, he brought three Pro Bowls and 37.5 sacks in four seasons to the city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPZvAI9OBc0

It's the first time the Bears ever traded up for a 1st round QB

In the modern era the Bears have selected a first round quarterback four times. This marks the first time in their franchise history they actually traded up to get one. In 1982 they stayed put to select Jim McMahon. Then in 1999 and 2003 they traded back to pick both Cade McNown and Rex Grossman. The only other times they actually traded to get a quarterback in the first round were 1939 and 1951. Both times it involved trading a player for the pick. So the Trubisky move is really breaking new ground.