Former NFL GM says Bears will ‘have a long discussion’ about Bryce Young with No. 1 pick

The Chicago Bears secured the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft Sunday. It didn’t take long for analysts, fans, and even former NFL general managers to offer their opinion on what general manager Ryan Poles will (or should) do with the selection.

Former New York Jets general manager and current ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum jumped right to Twitter and offered this blazingly hot take just minutes after the ink dried on the Bears holding the No. 1 pick:

There will be a long discussion of whether to draft Bryce Young or continue with Justin Fields. https://t.co/oDONvMvlVB

— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) January 8, 2023

Photo by Michael Reaves-Getty Images

Don’t believe the hype, Justin Fields is here to stay in Chicago

The Bears are two years removed from selecting Justin Fields with the 11th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s started 25 games over his first two seasons and exploded in 2022 by nearly breaking Lamar Jackson’s record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a season. Fields finished the year with 1,143 yards in 15 games.

Where Fields didn’t thrive in 2022 was as a passer. There are many reasons why, including poor pass protection and underwhelming wide receivers. But analysts like Tannenbaum will focus on the box score and use stats — 2,242 yards, 17 TDs, 11 INts (60.4% completion rate) — to support that Fields hasn’t developed enough to ignore a prospect like Bryce Young at No. 1 overall.

It’s true that Poles will do a deep dive on Young. And C.J. Stroud. And Will Levis. He’d be committing malpractice if he didn’t. But where Tannenbaum is wrong is this: Poles will do that deep dive to determine how much he should demand in a trade. If he has a big grade on Young (or Stroud, or Levis), the price to draft one of them will go up.

But as I said in the Bears Talk Podcast this week, a big grade and glowing scouting report are only part of the process. A player has to prove on an NFL field that he can make plays and lead a team. Fields proved that this year, and it’d be a slippery slope to trust an evaluation of Young over Fields’ results.

It will be a shocking and downright ludicrous decision if the Chicago Bears move on from Justin Fields this offseason. The Lions, Packers, and Vikings fans would certainly love the decision. Maybe Tannenbaum is a fan of one of those clubs. It’s the only way his tweet makes sense.

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