It's been a serious problem for decades. While other franchises have adapted to the reality of modern football, the Chicago Bears continue to lag behind. Why, oh why can't this team successfully draft quarterbacks? It's certainly not for lack of trying. Since the Super Bowl era began in 1966, the organization has selected 30 quarterbacks. Yet only one of them managed to make a single Pro Bowl.
This has forced them to live off the discarded remains of other teams or pay through the nose to get ones that are any good via trade. It hasn't worked. Now the team is coming off its most abysmal season in years. A 3-13 debacle filled with rampant injuries and questions of whether this team will ever get the QB position right.
In order to answer that question, it's important to understand where they've gone wrong. Plenty of mistakes have been made in the past, but there are two trends to their drafting that have stuck out the most. Suffice to say they clearly haven't learned their lessons, and until they do good fortune isn't likely to come.
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Size Matters
One of the things about the quarterback position is that it evolves with the league itself. As defenses adapt to stop them, the style of quarterback must also adapt. One development that has become a must over the past couple decades is the desire for more size. Offensive lineman have grown a lot in the past 50 years. Back then they were 6'3" and barely weighed 250 lbs. Now they hover around 6'5", 310 lbs. That's quite the Super Mario mushroom-style growth spurt. A key facet that is always overlooked but vital to a quarterback is vision. The better they can see the field, the easier it is to make throws. Shorter ones tend to have their vision obstructed. Usually the going belief among most draft experts today is a QB should be at least 6'3" and preferably 6'4" or taller. They say it's a game of inches and they weren't joking. Here is the standing height of the four quarterbacks remaining the NFL playoffs.- Ben Roethlisberger: 6'5"
- Matt Ryan: 6'5"
- Tom Brady: 6'4"
- Aaron Rodgers: 6'2"
- Rex Grossman: 6'1"
- Cade McNown: 6'1"
- Jim Harbaugh: 6'3"
- Jim McMahon: 6'1"
Late To The Party
Another mistake the franchise has made over the years in regards to their quarterback drafting methods was waiting too long. No, not waiting until later rounds. Waiting until later in the first round. There is actually a common trend people haven't noticed about the most successful QBs the Bears have drafted over the years. They were either the first or second off the board.- 1939: Sid Luckman (first off board)
- 1946: Johnny Lujack (second off board)
- 1985: Jim McMahon (second off board)
- 1987: Jim Harbaugh (fourth off board)
- 1999: Cade McNown (fifth off board)
- 2003: Rex Grossman (third off board)







