Mobile Enough to Throw the Ball
It's an age of mobile quarterbacks.
Mobility can carry more than one meaning, and in the case of a quarterback in this NFL Draft for the Bears it's possible it might mean something other than 25-yard scrambles downfield because they may not be in position to draft an athletic passer.
Sports Illustrated and FanNation football analyst Jim Mora Jr. sees a solid sixth quarterback choice in this draft for the Chicago Bears beyond the five being mentioned as first-round options — Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones and Trey Lance.
However, it's not a player who is ever going to net anyone rushing yards.
"I like Kyle Trask," said Mora, the former Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks coach. "I think he's been incredibly productive at Florida. I think that he's played for a head coach at Florida (Dan Mullen) that's a good quarterbacks coach. He's played in big games against great opponents on high-profile stages. I've seen him be very productive.
"Is he perfect? No. Does he have some deficiencies? Yes. But I also think he throws a really nice ball and I think he's become a really good manager of games — you know protective of the football, making good decisions with the football, throwing to the right guy at the right time. And I think there's a lot of potential there. I also like his size and his strength."
Trask could be available to the Bears in Round 2 or possibly Round 3, according to most mock drafts.
NFL Draft Bible listed Trask's 40 time from his pro day at 5.1 seconds, not quite the 4.4 Ohio State's Fields ran or even the 4.8 Alabama's Jones ,,had.
"Well, there's different types of mobility," Mora said.
On film, Trask does show a knack for sliding around a bit within the pocket for several steps. He had 50 yards rushing on 64 runs last season, but in college football sack yardage counts against rushing yards so the figure is misleading.
Still, it's not like the yardage Lance had at North Dakota State or Kellen Mond produced at Texas A&M.
On the other hand, neither of those quarterbacks got close to the 43 TD passes Trask threw last year, and this is what an NFL quarterback is supposed to do. Running is a good way to escape the rush or get your head handed to you in the NFL.
Lawrence, Fields and Jones didn't top 43 TD passes, either.
"There's the mobility you see out of the old Mike Vick or Fran Tarkenton — they could run around forever, they could make plays down the field with their legs," Mora said. "And then there's the type of mobility that a guy like Drew Brees showed."
Brees moved around a bit to throw, and earlier in his career could run a little more.
"Listen, if it's third-and-4 and Kyle Trask can get you 4 yards and 1 inch, that's mobile enough to keep the sticks moving," Mora said.
As for the Bears moving up in the draft from No. 20 to No. 4 or later to take one of the big five passers, don't hold your breath.
"I don't think, no matter how they would try to maneuver, they could get one of those guys," Mora said. "But there's Feleipe Franks and there's Davis Mills and there's Kellen Mond ... Kyle Trask.
"There's some guys in the draft that I think could be really good NFL quarterbacks if surrounded by the right cast, if put in a situation where the team plays great defense, where they can run the ball, where they're asked to do the things that they do well and they're not asked to do the things that they struggle with. Then those guys can actually be good players."
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