2020 NFL Draft: Low on picks, Bears need to find gems at quarterback, tight end

MOBILE, Ala. — This is probably Ryan Pace’s last chance to correct two of his biggest draft misses as Bears general manager, and it won’t be easy considering his diluted stock of picks.

That makes the Senior Bowl an ideal destination for the Bears, and they had a solid delegation of scouts weaving through the game’s hotel headquarters as teams began formal interviews with players of interest. This event is typically a showcase for second- and third-tier prospects trying to climb the ladder, and that’s exactly the aisle in which Pace is shopping.

Of the 254 players drafted in 2019, 93 were Senior Bowl participants. That includes 40 who went in the first three rounds, so there is quality talent to be found. But the last Senior Bowl player the Bears drafted was defensive end Kylie Fitts, a sixth-round pick in 2018 who did not survive final cuts last summer.

Pace, who’s in his sixth year and has produced one winning season, is running low on time to turn around the quarterback and tight end positions. In 2017, he drafted Mitch Trubisky in the first round and Adam Shaheen in the second, and both have disappointed.

While Pace reaffirmed his commitment to Trubisky and mustered some praise for Shaheen, he would have to be oblivious to bank his employment on those two. The Bears need up-and-comers at both positions, and that should be their aim with their two second-round picks.

Barring a trade or a surprisingly high compensation pick, that’s the only significant ammo Pace has. Those are the Bears’ top two selections — Nos. 43 and 50 overall — and their remaining five picks are in the fifth round or later.

Oregon’s Justin Herbert is the best quarterback at the Senior Bowl, but he’s far beyond the Bears’ reach as a likely top-10 pick. But behind him, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts is a rising prospect who merits their attention. He flamed out at Alabama but stormed back to be the Heisman Trophy runner-up last season.

Hurts was nearly a 1,000-yard rusher as a true freshman at Alabama and rolled up 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground for Oklahoma last season.

He also completed 69.7 percent of his passes, averaged 275.1 yards and threw 32 touchdowns against eight interceptions. That completion percentage was a massive leap from the 60.4 he posted with Alabama as a sophomore, showing he is capable of continued growth.

“Jalen’s come a long, long way,” said Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy, who worked as an NFL scout for two decades. “People asked me about Jalen [in 2018], and I said, ‘Maybe if he comes to the Senior Bowl in a couple years, it might be as another position player.’ He’s blown that out. He’s come so far.”

That said, he has much to prove. Hurts isn’t thought to be a first-round pick in part because there are concerns about his accuracy, questions about how well his skills will transfer to the NFL and assumptions that his stats were inflated by Oklahoma’s system and stellar offensive line.

For the Bears, Hurts’ running ability would make him a departure from what they’ve typically had at quarterback and would mark a shift in philosophy. Trubisky is athletic enough to run, too, but coach Matt Nagy tried to keep him in the pocket for most of last season.

Betting on Hurts would require the Bears to be near the forefront of an NFL trend rather than stuck in their ways. Three teams — most notably the Ravens with MVP favorite Lamar Jackson — made the playoffs with dual-threat quarterbacks, and Kyler Murray put up a promising rookie season for the Cardinals by finishing 10th in yards passing and second among quarterbacks in rushing.

“You have a lot of guys at the next level that are showcasing that they can make things happen with the arm and their legs,” Hurts said. “I think I’m a player that’s capable of doing that.”

The Bears also are sure to scout Utah State’s Jordan Love and Colorado’s Steven Montez, as well as some potential late-round quarterbacks they could try to develop.

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Pace already tried to course correct on Shaheen by signing Trey Burton to a four-year, $32 million contract in 2018, and that looked like a perfect fit until injuries wiped out his 2019 season. The Bears are planning on Burton being back next season, but his contract runs out after 2021 and they could cut him with a small salary-cap hit a year from now.

As long as they aren’t scarred by dipping into small schools after taking Shaheen from Division II Ashland, they should look at Dayton’s Adam Trautman this week. He had 70 catches for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns and is projected to be available in the middle rounds.

He should be on their list at the Senior Bowl, along with Vanderbilt’s beefy pass catcher Jared Pinkney, Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins and Florida Atlantic 1,000-yard receiver Harrison Bryant.

None of those names at quarterback or tight end jump off the page, but that’s where the Bears are. They desperately need to sift out a future star, rather than find themselves in the familiar position of missing out.