Why the Bears should draft a backup quarterback

Brock Purdy was the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, which earned him the title of “Mr. Irrelevant” and his own trophy, presented during the annual “Irrelevant Week” celebration in June in Newport Beach, California. The newest 49ers quarterback, an Iowa State alum, was given the Lowsman Trophy, the spiritual cousin — and playful opposite — of the Heisman. The figurine atop the award fumbles the football.

No one in Newport Beach could have predicted what happened next: Purdy became the NFL’s most unlikely success story, winning all five of his starts to end the regular season — and then two playoff games to set up the NFC title game against the Eagles. However, he suffered a gruesome elbow injury after four passes, and the 49ers lost a game he started for the first time.

With or without the injury, Purdy became the best argument for the Bears — and anyone in the NFL — to select a quarterback on the third day of the draft.

Taking a passer in Rounds 4-7 is a lottery ticket with the potential for a tremendous payday.

“Teams are starting to realize that you can’t have enough of these guys,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said last week. “Whether it’s practice squad or your No. 3 quarterback or whatever it is, you’re going to find out quickly what the makeup is. San Francisco found out quickly with Brock Purdy.”

Perhaps Purdy is the 49ers’ long-term answer at quarterback. Even if he’s not, he’s trade bait: He already has proved that he can start for a high-level NFL team.

“Somebody is going to give you something for Brock Purdy,” said SiriusXM draft analyst Mark Dominik, the former Buccaneers general manager. “And it’s gonna be a lot more than that seventh-rounder.”

The 49ers had no business taking him. They had Trey Lance, for whom they’d once traded three first-round draft picks; Jimmy Garoppolo, who was recovering from shoulder surgery and had a $26.95 million salary-cap hit; and third-stringer Nate Sudfeld in their quarterback room.

The 49ers, though, had high grades on Purdy. They felt they had to take him.

If the 49ers could draft Purdy, certainly the Bears could — and should — use one of their third-day picks on a quarterback. While GM Ryan Poles is waiting to find out whether Justin Fields is the answer, there’s nothing stopping him from trying to develop another quarterback. Picking one third-day quarterback wouldn’t threaten Fields the way first-round pick Jordan Love did Aaron Rodgers, either. In fact, it would have nothing to do with the way the Bears view Fields.

In March, the Bears signed P.J. Walker to back up Fields and brought back Nathan Peterman to be their third-stringer. Neither precludes the Bears from taking a rookie — preferably one with athleticism who more closely mimics Fields.

Fresno State’s Jake Haener, Stanford’s Tanner McKee, Houston’s Clayton Tune and Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell — a Stevenson High School grad — should be available in Round 4.

So should UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a five-year starter who runs a 4.56 40-yard dash. Georgia’s Stetson Bennett won two national titles, earning a scholarship with the Bulldogs after Fields transferred.

“I think those guys are all very good value plays,” Dominik said. “What’s your downside?”

It’s an issue of opportunity cost. The Bears have the worst record — and the most holes — in the NFL. Using a late pick on a quarterback is a luxury pick for a team that needs all the help it can get elsewhere. The Bears found contributors on Day 3 last year: Braxton Jones played every snap of the season as the starting left tackle, while defensive end Dominique Robinson played more than half the team’s defensive downs. Safety Elijah Hicks played almost half the Bears’ special-teams plays, and punter Trenton Gill made every start.

“As long as you continue to rank [quarterbacks] correctly, maybe it’s a luxury,” Dominik said. “But if Justin Fields goes down for three weeks and this guy can come in and keep the boat afloat for one or two games because of him, it’s not such a luxury anymore.”

It’s a long-shot bet. The list of quarterbacks drafted on Day 3 since 2012 include fourth-rounders Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott, who have combined to start 239 games and reach seven Pro Bowls. Others to start at least 20 career games include Gardner Minshew, Trevor Siemian and Logan Thomas, who were the primary starters for their teams for two years apiece. Siemian was Fields’ backup last season.

Purdy was among the four quarterbacks taken on Day 3 last year; Sam Howell is penciled in as the Commanders’ Week 1 starter, while Bailey Zappe will push Mac Jones for the Patriots’ job.

Former Bears GM Ryan Pace once said he wanted to draft a quarterback every year. He did it twice in seven years.

Poles can’t make the same mistake.

“If you don’t have one of [the star quarterbacks] or you haven’t built it like San Francisco’s built it, you don’t have a chance,” McShay said. “Keep bringing in quarterbacks. Keep figuring out who they are. And if you’ve got to move on from them, you move on from them.

“You gotta keep drafting these guys.”