With Mitch Trubisky in place, Bears openly rooting for run on QBs in draft

ORLANDO, Fla. — Bears general manager Ryan Pace knows what his NFL counterparts are feeling, that unrelenting pressure to fix a franchise by finding a franchise quarterback.

“Yeah, we lived it last year,” Pace said.

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Those feelings led to bold maneuvers. He traded up to select Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick, and now there’s newfound optimism with the pairing of Trubisky and coach Matt Nagy.

“It’s easier to sleep not only when you feel like you have the guy who has all the physical traits, but when he has the makeup you want in that position,” Pace said. “That’s what makes you sleep well.”

Several of his colleagues surely aren’t feeling as comfortable. Conversations about quarterbacks dominated the NFL’s annual meetings, particularly during the coaches’ breakfast Tuesday.

Pace, meanwhile, is openly rooting for a run on quarterbacks before the Bears are called to the podium with the eighth overall selection.

“If four quarterbacks go in front of us, I’m all for it,” Pace said. “You see the value of that position right now when you see people posturing to get up in the draft and get a quarterback. It’s critical.”

Take the Jets, for instance. They traded up from the sixth pick to the third to ensure themselves of a shot at taking one of the best quarterbacks in the draft.

The Jets sent two second-round picks this year and one in 2019 to the Colts for that third pick — a hefty cost compared to the two third-rounders and a fourth-rounder the Bears parted with to switch places with the 49ers last year in the draft.

As Pace showed last year, when you’re close to the top of the draft, the best course of action arguably is to go for it. The cost of moving up in the draft only gets more expensive the further back you start.

“[The quarterback is] the most critical position,” Pace said. “I think you see it right now with guys maneuvering around to make sure they get that position solved.”

The Jets already have had private workouts with UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. Wyoming’s Josh Allen is scheduled for next week.

“It’s an educated crapshoot, so to speak,” Jets coach Todd Bowles told reporters during the coaches’ breakfast.

It certainly is, though the actual knowledge and understanding of the best quarterbacks vary from team to team every year.

Just look at the Browns, who drafted DeShone Kizer with the 52nd pick last year after taking Johnny Manziel at No. 22 in 2014, Brandon Weeden at No. 22 in 2012, Colt McCoy at No. 85 in 2010 and Brady Quinn at No. 22 in 2007.

With the first and fourth selections, the Browns are considered a lock to draft a quarterback. After the Jets’ ambitious trade, it’s thought that the Browns will take USC’s Sam Darnold at No. 1. The Browns’ brass has recently spent time with all four of the top quarterbacks.

“We get to kind of dictate this thing on how we want it to go,” Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters. “There are four guys, but within the four guys, we’ve got to determine who is the best fit for us moving forward.”

Pace did that last year. He was so determined to get Trubisky that he traded up one spot to prevent any competitors from leapfrogging him.

New Browns general manager John Dorsey was part of the Chiefs’ brain trust — which included Nagy and coach Andy Reid — that coveted Trubisky in last year’s draft. After the Bears drafted Trubisky, the Chiefs traded up and selected Patrick Mahomes with the No. 10 pick.

The Giants (No. 2), Broncos (No. 5), Bills (No. 12) and Cardinals (No. 15) also have considerable interest in quarterbacks.

All of it bodes well for the Bears, who could see Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson or Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick fall to them.

“We’re in a pretty good position, we feel,” Pace said.