Chicago Bears: 5 Times They Should’ve Drafted Quarterbacks

Part of the reason the Chicago Bears haven’t won more Super Bowls since the era started back in the 1960s is because, unlike some other franchises, they haven’t made a more committed effort to groom the one position that matters most.  Since 1966, when the Super Bowl became the standard, the Bears have drafted 30 quarterbacks.  Just six of them came in the 2nd round or earlier.

Their lone Lombardi trophy came from the singular instant they used a top 5 pick on one.  Too many times over that span the team has passed over the position in favor of keeping their old traditions of defensive and power running.  Here are five of their most egregious mistakes.

1968:  Ken Stabler

By the late 1960s it was becoming clear the Bears were a flawed football team.  They still played strong defense thanks to the many talents of Dick Butkus and churned a successful ground game courtesy of Gale Sayers.  However, part of the ongoing problem was lack of production at quarterback.  The men they had hopes would save them were Jack Concannon, Virgil Carter and Larry Rackestraw.

One was a castoff from another team and the other two were late round picks.  None had proven they deserved the starting job.  So the 1968 draft offered the ideal chance to start fresh while both Butkus and Sayers were healthy and in their primes.  Waiting on the board was a young kid from Alabama named Ken Stabler.  The successor to Joe Namath, he had a 28-3-2 record in college and scouts noted him for his passing accuracy.

The Bears had not one but two shots to take him in the 1st and 2nd rounds.  They passed both times.  He ended up with the Oakland Raiders and led them to a Super Bowl title in 1976.  Chicago would have just two winning seasons in the 1970s.