The Bears were impressed by Bryce Young. But they weren’t blown away.
Two days after their season ended last year, general manager Ryan Poles said he’d “have to be absolutely blown away” to use his No. 1 overall pick on a quarterback rather than keep Justin Fields entrenched as the Bears’ starter.
Exactly two months later — after front-office members and coaches studied college film and went to the NFL Scouting Combine — Poles traded the pick to the Panthers for two first-round selections, two second-round picks and receiver DJ Moore.
The Panthers mortgaged their future for Young, the Alabama star. Halfway through his rookie season, he trails far behind the No. 2 overall pick, C.J. Stroud. The Texans quarterback seems a shoo-in for Offensive Rookie of the Year; he ranks fourth in the NFL in passer rating, seventh in passing yards and seventh in touchdowns.
When the Bears and Panthers play Thursday night, both franchises might have regrets of not picking Stroud. The Bears might eventually regret not taking Young, whom they liked — just not enough.
“Accuracy was easy,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said of Young. “That’s the thing that stood out for the kid is, no matter if it was down the field, under 20 yards or under 10 yards, the ability to get the ball out quick. He showed a lot of the cool things you’re looking for in a guy to be a natural passer.”
The Bears spoke to Young at the combine and, after making the trade, traveled to the Crimson Tide’s pro day. Though they knew they wouldn’t end up with Young, they paid attention to him while watching other prospects.
“He was an accurate son of a gun,” Bears quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko said. “He was somebody who was a winner. Smart. I just thought he was on time. He knew what he had to do on each play. I thought he had a really good understanding of the game, a really good understanding of everything going on around him.”
Young was the nation’s best dual-threat high school quarterback before going to Alabama, where he went 23-4 as the starter and became the only Crimson Tide quarterback to throw for at least 3,000 yards in more than one season. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2021.
Had he stood five inches taller, perhaps he’d be starting for the Bears on Thursday. At 5-10⅛, Young is tied with the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray as the shortest quarterback taken in the first round since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. At 204 pounds, he was the fifth-lightest quarterback drafted in that same span.
The fear, then as now, is that his slight build will limit what Young can do schematically and expose him to a greater threat of injury than larger quarterbacks.
Young has missed one game this season with a shoulder sprain. When he has played, he has struggled. Pro Football Focus grades him as the league’s 34th-best quarterback.
Bears safety Eddie Jackson has seen flashes of brilliance — and mistakes.
“From what I watched, I feel like he’s still kinda struggling with [defensive] disguises,” he said.
As an Alabama alum, Jackson has watched Young for years.
“He’s learning,” he said. “He’s in Carolina. Year 1. They gotta get some more help around him — O-line, receivers, stuff like that. He won the Heisman for a reason. He’s special.”
Maybe he will be special in the NFL. But he’s not yet. On Sunday, he threw two pick-sixes.
“It’s stuff that’s inexcusable,” Young told reporters this week. “It’s something that’s in the past. We don’t have the luxury of time to dwell.”
Time will tell if Young makes the Bears dwell on their evaluation of him.
