The Chicago Bears 2019 draft was largely uneventful. This isn't a huge surprise. They only had six picks to start with and that reduced to five when they traded up to secure David Montgomery in the 3rd round. After that, it was basically a run of names who didn't contribute much this past season like Riley Ridley, Duke Shelley, and Kerrith Whyte. However, it was recently revealed that the team almost changed the entire complexion of their roster with one simple pick.
By now most people have heard of Gardner Minshew. The Washington State standout went in the 6th round to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then after Nick Foles went down with a shoulder injury on opening day, he stepped into the starting job and became an overnight sensation. In 14 games including 12 starts, he went 6-6 with 3,271 yards pass, 21 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He came across as a smart, charismatic and competitive leader who willed his team to wins.
Recently in an interview with Mark Carman of FanSided, Minshew revealed that two teams showed the most interest in him going into the draft. One of them was Jacksonville, obviously. The other was the Bears.
Chicago Bears continue a long trend with this decision
Honestly, is anybody surprised by this? No team has a larger reputation of shying away from drafting notable quarterbacks than the Bears and it goes back decades. They had Joe Montana in their laps in 1979 and took a backup running back instead. Aaron Rodgers flew right past them in 2005. They had multiple shots at Dak Prescott in 2016 as well. The list is pretty extensive. Here's a prime opportunity to get a developmental guy on their roster and instead they get another backup wide receiver in Ridley.
Sure enough, Trubisky goes belly up this past season which would've presented a prime opportunity for Minshew to state his case for the starting job. Nope. He'll be doing that in Jacksonville from now on and Bears fans are once again left wondering what could've been. If there is any silver lining in this, it's that head coach Matt Nagy seemed to have a strong grasp on the fact that Minshew could end up being a good player when he got to the NFL.
Maybe that offers hope the Bears QB search to come is in good hands.
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