2017 NFL Draft Redo: Re-Drafting the entire first round

By Dan Schmelzer | Jul 3, 2019

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Mitchell Trubisky NFL Draft

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4. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina

Original Pick: Leonard Fournette

The Jacksonville Jaguars took running back Leonard Fournette with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and built their offense around him. At the time, I could see the logic of the move. The Jags were building a dominant defense and Fournette appeared to be a special back whose powerful running style could lead an offensive attack. Unfortunately, two years later, that selection looks foolish.

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Fournette has not been terrible, but his 3.7 career yards per carry average leaves plenty to be desired. he is a fairly limited back who does not offer much big-play ability or receiving upside. Instead of building their offense around Fournette, the Jags should have cut bait with Blake Bortles and found a quarterback to build around.

In the real 2017 NFL Draft, this would have meant taking either Mahomes or Watson. With both players off of the board here, Mitchell Trubisky is the guy.

Trubisky really grew as the Bears’ quarterback last season, completing 66.6% of his passes for 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 14 games. He is an extremely tough-minded quarterback who shows fantastic natural playmaking skills and has really grown as a passer over the last year.

Trubisky is an extremely mobile quarterback who can create yardage as a runner but also does a nice job of keeping his eyes upfield as he escapes the pocket. He has great pocket awareness and can make every throw on a football field.

Simply put, Trubisky is a gamer who is going to be a major part of the Bears’ success going forward. Put him in Jacksonville instead of Fournette and the Jaguars undoubtedly look like a much better team going forward.