Texas Tech quarterback prospect Patrick Mahomes was ready for the Chicago Bears to call his name at No. 3 in the 2017 NFL Draft. Mahomes’ father, Patrick Sr., told reporters last year that the Bears’ front office told his son the team would take him with the No. 3 pick.
The Bears are courting top quarterback prospect Caleb Williams in a similar fashion. They’re wining and dining the Heisman winner as if he’s their only option in April’s draft. However, it would be wise for Williams to ensure he has a backup plan. The Bears have a history here.
The Chicago Bears surprised Patrick Mahomes in 2017
The Bears traded with the San Francisco 49ers to move up to No. 2 and draft Mitchell Trubisky. The move was a surprise to Mahomes and Trubisky because, per the NFL’s website, the Bears didn’t spend much time with the North Carolina product before the draft:
“The commissioner went to the stand and he said my name and I couldn’t believe it,” Trubisky said on a conference call with Bears reporters Thursday. “It was an unreal moment and I can’t wait to get started.”
He partially couldn’t believe it because, as the Chicago Tribune noted, Trubisky said he had almost no contact with the franchise after the combine. The Bears worked out Patrick Mahomes, attended DeShaun Waton’s pro day and sat down with DeShone Kizer. Trubisky said there was a short on-campus workout but that he was not contacted by the Bears at any point afterward.
Smokescreen season, folks.
Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles didn’t attend Drake Maye’s pro day
General manager Ryan Poles didn’t attend Drake Maye’s pro day in North Carolina this year. He went to LSU to see Jayden Daniels throw to two expected first-round wide receiver prospects. But Poles was back in Chicago to watch the play-in-bound Bulls by the evening while other teams met with Daniels in Baton Rouge.
Poles spent more time in Los Angeles to watch Williams’ pro day at USC. He was also present for Michigan’s pro day to watch J.J. McCarthy.
Things reportedly went well for the Bears’ visit with Williams and his USC teammates in Los Angeles. According to multiple reports, the Bears had a great official visit with Williams this week. Per Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, the Bears are expected to be Williams’s only official 30 visit.
Caleb Williams is taking a risk
There’s a multi-million risk for Williams if, indeed, the Bears are the only team he visits with. Williams said at the NFL Combine he’d only give his medical information to teams he visited with that had a chance to draft him.
The Bears have his medical information, but no other team reportedly does. So if the Bears choose not to draft Williams with the No. 1 pick, the quarterback could tumble down the draft board on April 25. It’s unlikely the team’s picking at No. 2 or No. 3 would draft Williams without receiving his medical information.
Teams might logically conclude that the Bears passed on Williams because of his medical information.
Williams had better hope that the Bears don’t pull a Trubisky-like draft-night move and trade out of the No. 1 pick. He’d lose millions for every position he wasn’t picked in the top ten.
That would be a major fall from grace for a prospect who seems assured he’ll be the No. 1 pick in three weeks.
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