Hello, Chicago Bears Fans! So let me set the scene for our discussion. I have been watching NFL Drafts since the early 1990s, mocking draft scenarios and rooting for player X or Y to drop to the Bears at our pick. I cannot tell you how often I have rooted for a player to drop to us, and they did, and I prematurely celebrated, only to have the Bears draft a player I had not even heard of. It has happened so many times I cannot count them. But let me cover a few of them – both the ones where the Bears drafted the player I wanted – and when they did, well, the opposite of that.
1991 – Chicago Bears draft Chris Zorich, DT Notre Dame, in the 2nd round, pick 49.
So, as you can probably guess, as a Chicago Bears fan, I am also a Notre Dame fan. And in the early 1990s, one of the most popular players on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was defensive tackle Chris Zorich. In 1990, the Fighting Irish, under the direction of the famous coach Lou Holtz (who also once coached my home state team, the Arkansas Razorbacks), featured Chris Zorich on their defense, but suffered a loss in the Orange Bowl against Colorado. I very much wanted the Bears to draft Zorich and sure enough, in the 2nd round of the 1991 draft, the Bears took him. Unfortunately, that pick did not turn out. Zorich never lived up to the hype, and he is considered a draft bust to this day.
1995 – Chicago Bears draft Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado, in the 1st round, pick 21.
In 1995 I was very much looking for the Bears to revitalize their defense. I wanted the Bears to get an elite defender to return the Bears to some version of the 85 Bears defense under Buddy Ryan. My guy in 1995 was Derrick Brooks. Instead, the Bears took the running back out of Colorado, Rashaan Salaam. RS would have a few decent seasons, but his drug addiction complicated and undermined his production. Ultimately – Salaam was a bust. Meanwhile Derrick Brooks put up Hall of Fame statistics at linebacker on defense until his life was cut short in a tragic car accident.
1998 – Chicago Bears draft Curtis Enis, RB, Penn State, in the 1st round, pick 5.
In 1998, there was a star-studded set of prospects at the top of the round. My personal preference was for Charles Woodson, the DB out of Michigan, but unfortunately, he went 4th overall to Oakland in the draft. After Woodson, I preferred the Bears to take Randy Moss. The Bears chose to take the running back out of Penn State, Curtis Enis. Enis would spend a few injury-plagued seasons before busting out of the NFL entirely. Randy Moss would go on to a career that ended in the Hall of Fame. Them’s the breaks.
1999 – Chicago Bears take Cade McNown, QB, UCLA, in the 1st round pick 12.
In 1999, I wanted the Bears to move up and take Chicago native Donovan McNabb, but unfortunately, he was taken 2nd overall by the Eagles. My next preference was Champ Bailey and Daunte Culpepper – both players were available at pick #7 when the Bears picked. The Bears chose to trade out of pick 7 to pick 12. The Broncos picked Bailey at number 7, and the Minnesota Vikings took Culpepper at the 11th pick overall. The Bears took McNown at 12 and he busted hard – setting the franchise back at least a decade.
2000 – Chicago Bears take Brian Urlacher, LB/DB, New Mexico in the 1st round at pick 9.
One of those rare instances where the Chicago Bears took the player I desperately wanted them to take. Going into the 2000 draft, I had identified Urlacher as my top choice at linebacker, although it was a projection since he had mostly played safety in college. When the Bears took him at pick #9, I leaped for joy.
2003 – Chicago Bears take Michael Haynes (DE Penn St) and Rex Grossman (QB Florida) in the 1st round at picks 14 and 22, respectively.
I hated the Michael Haynes pick in 2003. He wasn’t particularly productive at Penn St. and my reaction when the Bears drafted him was “who?” I don’t recall who I wanted in that draft, but it certainly wasn’t Haynes. Greg Gabriel who was in the Bears front office at the time laments the Haynes pick because they didn’t learn about his lack of football character until it was too late. On the other hand, I was very happy when the Bears took Rex Grossman – I was convinced he would be a solid NFL QB. And perhaps he would have been if he had not injured his foot and ankle – limiting his ability to move in the pocket.
2005 – Chicago Bears take Cedric Benson, RB, University of Texas, in the 1st round at pick 4.
I did not want a running back in the 2005 NFL Draft because we had just signed Thomas Jones and running back did not seem like a need. I liked Benson’s power-running profile, but I thought the Bears should go defense (I know – shocker). I really liked Pacman Jones – both his playstyle and his nickname. Sadly, it was not to be. While Benson had some productive years in the NFL, most of them were not with the Chicago Bears.
2012 – Chicago Bears take Shea McClellin, LB/DE Boise St. in the 1st round at pick 19.
Another one of those – wait, who did we just pick first rounds – an experience I have had time and time again as a Chicago Bears fan (well, until Ben Johnson arrived). I recall rooting hard for Chandler Jones to drop and sure enough, there he was when we were on the clock. I did a double-take when Shea McCellin’s name was called. Jones would go two picks later, and the rest is his history. McCellin played for awhile but is definitely a bust from a 1st round perspective. Jones would become one of the elite defensive ends in the game. One the other hand, in the 2nd round the Bears actually took the guy I wanted – Alshon Jeffrey out of South Carolina. And boy, did that turn out to be the right choice!
2017 – Chicago Bears take Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina, after trading up to pick 2 in the 1st round.
We all remember this one. It may seem like hindsight, but yes, I did want the Bears to take the gun slinger from Texas Tech, Patrick Mahomes, and not Mitchell Trubisky. That said, I didn’t feel too strongly about it at the time. There was not a consensus among the evaluators on which QB was tops that year, and many had Trubisky slotted as the top QB available. I didn’t like that he had only played one year as the starter at North Carolina – as good as that year was statistically. Trubisky, of course, didn’t earn a second contract with the Bears, though he’s made a nice living for himself as a backup in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes…well, you know.
2018 – Chicago Bears take Roquan Smith, ILB, Georgia, in the 1st round at pick 8.