The Chicago Bears Win More When They Develop Own QBs
By Erik Lambert
It has been two years since the Chicago Bears drafted a quarterback and eight years since one they drafted actually started games for them.
No other franchise has a longer drought. That can be said with safe assumption (and research). Much of the reason for this long stretch was the trade for Jay Cutler back in 2009. At the time it was viewed as a bold maneuver almost certain to change the Bears’ fortunes at the position. Aside from one playoff appearance, the experiment has yielded a 51-50 career record over the past eight seasons. Not the worst the franchise ever had, but not the best.
Most have long since assumed that the Bears are a QB wasteland. This is true to an extent, but not in the way most people thing. Many of the horrors perpetrated at that position in Chicago during the Super Bowl era have come from free agents. Sure there were a few bad apples from the draft like Cade McNown and Craig Krenzel. Still the history shows that when the team has actually committed to developing a quarterback they draft, things turn out fairly well.
QBs Drafted and Started At Least One Year in Chicago
- Virgil Carter (6th round, 1967)
- Bobby Douglass (2nd round, 1969)
- Gary Huff (2nd round, 1973)
- Bob Avellini (6th round, 1975)
- Vince Evans (6th round, 1977)
- Jim McMahon (1st round, 1982)
- Jim Harbaugh (1st round, 1987)
- Cade McNown (1st round, 1999)
- Rex Grossman (1st round, 2003)
- Craig Krenzel (5th round, 2004)
- Kyle Orton (4th round, 2005)
Overall Record: 184-181 (.504)
If one were to look even closer they would find that the team has even more success when they make the investment of a higher draft pick from the 4th round and up.
QBs Drafted Between 1st and 4th Rounds
- Bobby Douglass (2nd round, 1969)
- Gary Huff (2nd round, 1973)
- Jim McMahon (1st round, 1982)
- Jim Harbaugh (1st round, 1987)
- Cade McNown (1st round, 1999)
- Rex Grossman (1st round, 2003)
- Kyle Orton (4th round, 2005)
Overall Record: 142-129 (.523)
Ready for the final push? Here is a further breakdown of the just the quarterbacks the Bears have taken in the 1st round.
QBs Drafted In The 1st Round
- Jim McMahon (1st round, 1982)
- Jim Harbaugh (1st round, 1987)
- Cade McNown (1st round, 1999)
- Rex Grossman (1st round, 2003)
Overall Record: 103-69 (.598)
So not only do the Bears boast an overall winning record when they develop their own quarterbacks, but the record and winning percentage improve the higher picks they invest at the position. In fact three of their four 1st round picks in the Super Bowl era (McMahon, Harbaugh, Grossman) all had winning records when they left the team to play elsewhere.
If this doesn’t reinforce the need for Chicago to end the drought of not taking a quarterback high in the draft, nothing will. The big trade was fun and the stampede of different free agents was similar to playing the lottery. At the end of the day though, if the Bears want to get serious about building their own identity, it’s time they went and got their own quarterback.