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The Bears have already named quarterback Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback in the 2021 season. During his press conference last week, general manager Ryan Pace praised Dalton as “one of the most complete quarterbacks we’ve evaluated this year as a free agency”.
But Chicago may not have finished as a defender, as the draft is coming later this month. Pace and coach Matt Nagy have been assessing incoming passers, and Dalton’s presence apparently will not prevent Chicago from coming up with a potential long-term solution.
“It’s harder [to evaluate these quarterbacks] because you just don’t have the luxury of being on the combine and watching these guys play and watch the ball come out of your hands and feet, ”said Nagy at the end of last week through Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. “You can see each of these guys, from the top guy to the bottom guy. At the moment, you simply cannot afford to do this.
“As everyone knows, we were on some professional days with some of those defenders and it definitely helps, but there are so many of them that you can see and do. What is fair is that all the other teams are doing the same thing. Ryan [Pace] and I’m super excited to go through this evaluation process together and how we do it. It is a challenge, but we are looking forward to it. There are many good defenders in this draft class. “
The Bears have the 20th overall choice, so unless they negotiate, they are probably out of the running for one of the best candidates. But if one falls, Chicago will have at least done the necessary due diligence to feel comfortable capitalizing if an opportunity presents itself.