Truth be told, former Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy should have never had the opportunity to make the mistake they made during the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Pace and Nagy entered the 2021 offseason on a tightrope with the expectation that each would be fired with another losing season and in a desperate attempt to avoid that fate, the Bears moved up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select to Justin Fields.
While there was reason to be excited about Fields’ potential as a quarterback in the NFL, there was certainly even more reason to know that the Bears, in 2021, were not in a position to develop a quarterback like Fields. While it wasn’t the main reason his tenure with the Bears turned out to be a failure after three seasons, the Bears’ lack of a defined plan for Fields at the beginning of his career certainly was a big factor. part of the problem.
Team 33’s latest experiment erases that mistake. In a rewording of the 2021 NFL Draft, Marcus Mosher has the Bears passing up Fields with the 11th pick and select offensive tackle Rashawn Slater.
“11. CHICAGO BEARS: RASHAWN SLATER, LT
Original pick: Justin FieldsThe Chicago Bears land one of the best left tackles in the NFL in pick No. 11, Rashawn Slater. All he needs to do is stay healthy and he should be back in the Pro Bowl in 2024. Adding Slater to this offensive line would give the unit a big boost and give Caleb Williams two strong tackles to play behind.”
– Team 33
Slater immediately became one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL during his rookie season, as he not only finished fourth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting but was also a second-team All-Pro, including a Pro Bowl selection.
But, here’s the problem with the exercise: The Bears were originally scheduled to make the 20th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft before trading with the Giants to select Fields with the 11th pick. It’s safe to say that the Bears would not have changed. up in the draft if they weren’t drafting a quarterback. However, the mistake of drafting Fields in 2021 is the trigger for the changes that were implemented this offseason and it’s safe to say the Bears probably wouldn’t want a repeat.
