Chicago Bears say they've got their man in Trubisky
Despite the fact that they'll pay quarterback Mike Glennon $16 million this year, the Chicago Bears on Thursday night traded up one spot to No. 2 overall to draft North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
Trubisky was just a one-year starter, and the Bears paid a huge amount to move up, but general manager Ryan Pace believes Trubisky is worth it. He gave up the third overall selection, along with their third-rounder (67th overall) and a fourth-rounder (111th overall) this year and a third-round pick in 2018.
Pace said there was conviction on Trubisky throughout the building.
"We did what we had to do to get him," Pace said. "His potential to be a championship quarterback is all we focused on. I didn't want to sit on our hands and have some team jump us when we were this close in reach of the player we all really valued."
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Trubisky did not start a game until last season, when he threw 30 touchdown passes and just 6 interceptions, while completing 68 percent of his passes. He left school with a year of eligibility remaining and will be 22 in August.
Pace said Glennon remains No. 1, with Trubisky as his understudy.
"Mike Glennon is our starting quarterback; there's no competition when Mitch gets here," Pace said. "The focus is on Mitch developing and Mike Glennon winning games for the Bears."
If the pick was a shock to Bears fans, it also took Trubisky by surprise.
"No one (from the Bears called me)," he said from his parents' home in Mentor, Ohio. "I didn't think I'd be picked (that soon), and then the commissioner called my name. Me and my family celebrated. It was a great moment to share with them."
Glennon, 27, was signed just last month to a three-year, $45 million contract in free agency. But after this year's $16 million in guaranteed money he has just $2.5 million more guaranteed in 2018.
The consensus is that Trubisky appears to be a long way from becoming a starting quarterback in the NFL
The offense he played in at North Carolina featured mostly short passes - screens and lateral throws, often to wide-open receivers. He has almost no experience reading defenses and progressing through his reads. He also rarely took a direct snap from center, and the belief is that his footwork and mechanics will need work.
Asked about sitting for a year behind Glennon, Trubisky said: "I'm going to come in and work and compete, and that's how you make your teammates better, that's how you make the Bears' quarterbacks better. The best quarterback is going to play. That's what I'm all about."
Although he has enough zip to make all the NFL throws, Trubisky does not have a particularly strong arm, and for two years he was unable to beat out Tar Heels starter Marquise Williams, who went undrafted last year.
"It was tough," Trubisky said of waiting his turn. "Because I definitely felt like I had earned the starting role and should have been the starter. But I found other ways to get better. It taught me a lot about patience and how to be an even better teammate when you're not getting your opportunity to shine.
"It teaches you to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way."
Trubisky clearly has upside, according to most analysts. He has shown good accuracy and nice touch on deep balls, and he has a quick release and enough foot agility to escape the pass rush. He also gets high marks for timing, anticipation and the ability to throw a catchable ball.
Asked for a self-scouting report, Trubisky said of his strengths: "I would definitely say my accuracy and my ability to make all the throws on the field, my decision-making and probably my poise and calmness.
"Aside from that, the things you can't measure, my love for the game, my passion for my teammates and my competitiveness and will to win. The things that you can't measure are, I think, what's going to define me and help separate me in this league."
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