Another way to spin this is by tracing when the Bears had their hits. That amazing run they had in the 1980s wasn’t some sort of situation where the stars aligned. It was set up by a run of quality top picks. From 1975 to 1984 they drafted a total of six Pro Bowlers in the 1st round. The list includes Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, Otis Wilson, Jim McMahon, Jimbo Covert and Wilbur Marshall. All of them were key components to the team winning that Super Bowl championship in 1985.
So when fans wonder why this team has fallen on such hard times, just look at the recent history of the 1st round between their three GMs.
- 2005: Cedric Benson (cut in 2008)
- 2006: Traded to BUF
- 2007: Greg Olsen (traded to CAR in 2011)
- 2008: Chris Williams (cut in 2012)
- 2009: Traded to DEN for Jay Cutler
- 2010: Traded to DEN for Jay Cutler
- 2011: Gabe Carimi (traded to TB in 2013)
- 2012: Shea McClellin (became FA in 2016)
- 2013: Kyle Long (3x Pro Bowler)
- 2014: Kyle Fuller (benched and injured)
- 2015: Kevin White (injured)
- 2016: Leonard Floyd (injured)
It’s essentially been a mixture of not having 1st rounders due to trades, injuries, bad picks and ill-fated trading of players who no longer fit the scheme. Kyle Long stands as the only good pick they’ve had in the past 12 seasons. That is bad. Really bad. Granted White and Floyd deserve more time before judgment is passed but so far it’s not looking good. It’s no wonder this franchise can’t beat anybody. They’ve found a way to screw up the easiest pick in the NFL draft repeatedly for well over a decade.
Things will not get better until Ryan Pace or somebody else is able to change that.