Why Mitchell Trubisky Wasn't Worst Bears Pick
Mitchell Trubisky has been labeled by Pro Football Focus as the worst Bears draft pick since 2006.
It's a logical choice by PFF and predictable considering it almost seemed they had an entire section of their labor force dedicated to picking out the most minute flaws in the former Bears quarterback. They spared him no criticism, ever, although he certainly deserved much of what he got.
As proof, PFF pointed to analytics they invented that no one else can really check, like big "big-time throw rate" and his "turnover-worthy play rate." These are far too subjective and unnecessary anyway. The naked eye told everyone Trubisky made dumb throws.
What is also certain is Trubisky was often very fortunate on his poor throws because many seemed to be so poor that even the defenders couldn't hang on to them. He got away with more than his share of dropped interceptions or he could have been even worse than he was.
The fact Trubisky was the second pick in the draft and the Bears gave up a pair of third-rounders and a fourth-rounder just to move up one spot so they could turn down Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, makes GM Ryan Pace an easy target for ridicule.
However, it's not so clear cut Trubisky is the worst Bears pick since 2006.
Perhaps it's more the sloppy way PFF has labeled this article and described criteria for getting onto the list.
They haven't made it clear whether they are talking about the process of drafting the player himself plus his production or lack therof, or if they're merely talking about a player's failure to produce.
If it's the latter, Kevin White wins hands down.
Either way Pace looks foolish.
The thing with Trubisky is he was quarterback when they got into the playoffs twice. He did it twice in four years, one more year than Jay Cutler managed in an eight-year Bears career, and they paid a fortune twice to have Cutler play QB.
Sure, Trubisky's playoff teams were carried by a great defense. So was Cutler's one playoff team.
Trubisky did enough well to rank higher than PFF ever gave him credit for, and enough bad to keep anyone from ever considering him a top 20 quarterback in the NFL.
Sure, you expect a great deal more for a player who went second in the draft, but at least he produced something.
In a city which has developed a keen taste for the fine subtleties of poor quarterback play, Trubisky merely was a side dish.
Once you've tasted Chad Hutchinson, Jonathan Quinn, Rick Mirer, Cade McNown and Mike Glennon, you know true poor quarterback play. Glennon was so bad Trubisky seemed like a savior by comparison.
On the other hand, they used the seventh pick for Kevin White and received absolutely nothing in return.
It really was a totally wasted first-round draft pick.
Some will look at White's rookie year injury. This shin injury wasn't a career-ending type by any means. None of the injuries White suffered ever proved serious enough to be career-threatening.
What ended White's career was he couldn't play well enough to have a career. He couldn't play the game and never could.
Of course, Pace should have realized this before drafting him.
White was a total bust in the classical use of the term, it's true meaning.
For some reason, today's weak revisionist analysts lack ability to come up with their own descriptive terminology, so they've distorted the meaning of the word to include a level of play ranging from someone who was a total waste to someone who has a long, productive career but fails by a few statistics to become dominant.
Kevin White was the seventh pick of the draft, made 25 NFL receptions in four years with the Bears, then proved how poor a player he really is by failing to make tbe roster with the Cardinals and San Francisco.
It was too bad. He seemed like a really good guy while with the Bears. So does Tony Medlin but no one is asking the Bears equipment manager to beat a safety on the post.
White couldn't play football, and no one should ever be able to say that about someone chosen in the first round of an NFL draft.
The Bears have had other first-round debacles since 2006, as well.
Tackles Gabe Carimi and Chris Williams rate high among disasters but both were chosen later in Round 1. Injuries factored highly into their failures to a greater extent than they did with Floyd.
Shea McClellin and Leonard Floyd belong in the team photo.
At least Floyd finally proved he could do what the Bears drafted him for when he went to Los Angeles. He proved an all-around talent in Chicago, but not the sack artist they initially sought.
McClellin's claim to fame was breaking Aaron Rodgers' collarbone while playing for the Bears and then in developing a knack for running and jumping over the entire line of scrimmage to block field goals with New England, before that play was banned. Beyond that, he had no abilities in a five-year career that included only 35 starts.
Trubisky would be a close second to White as the biggest Bears draft bust.
In Round 1 of the 2015 draft, the Bears would have been better off selecting one of many players who went entirely undrafted that year rather than take White.
It's difficult to say this about Trubisky.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
