Should the Bears Have Any Regrets With Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel in the Super Bowl?

I was really hoping the Patriots wouldn't make it to the Super Bowl. Now Bears fans are going to have to hear about how two guys they passed up on turned their team around in near-record time (the Patriots went 4-13 last season). Should they really have any regrets, though?

Absolutely NOT.

It was widely documented just how talented the 2024 NFL Draft was at the quarterback position. The Bears had their pick of the litter, and they went with USC quarterback Caleb Williams. It wasn't much of a controversial choice at the time, as he was widely considered the top guy in the class.

The 2024 QB Draft Class was STACKED.

1. Caleb Williams
2. Jayden Daniels
3. Drake Maye
8. Michael Penix Jr.
10. J.J. McCarthy
12. Bo Nix

Where will this group rank when all’s said and done? pic.twitter.com/pcdopt9UAU
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) January 16, 2026

Analysts were split on who the second-best QB in the class was between Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels. The Commanders selected the latter with the second-overall pick, and the Patriots were happy to select Maye with the third selection. Jayden Daniels had one of the best seasons we've ever seen from a rookie last season. Everyone sang his praises and said the Bears made a mistake in selecting Williams, who struggled to keep the train on the tracks while it was being taken over by terrorists (Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron) in year one, over him.

One year later, Daniels couldn't stay healthy, and the Commanders only won five games as a result. Meanwhile, Williams and Maye, who also struggled mightily trying to hold up a weak supporting cast as a rookie, enjoyed breakout seasons. Still, the Patriots and Maye experienced a bit more success than Williams and the Bears did. Those questions about whether Williams was the right choice persist, but now Maye is the one being hyped up by the media.

I fully understand that players who play the same position and were in the same draft class are always going to get compared. The same conversation exists for Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger, who each began their careers in 2004. The debate will exist for years to come about Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren.

Is Maye an MVP candidate? Sure. He'll probably finish second to Matthew Stafford. He looks destined to enjoy a long and successful career. Does that mean the Bears would take him over Williams if granted a mulligan? I honestly don't think they would.

Maye might be talented, but he is not a world beater by any means. In fact, his worst stretch of football has come over the past few weeks. The Patriots didn't beat the Texans because of Maye. In fact, he turned the ball over three times in their Divisional Round matchup (and nearly had two more fumbles lost). He threw for 86 yards against Denver on Sunday afternoon. He's still a great quarterback, but he clearly hasn't shown it lately. He's managed to survive and advance because of the Patriots' stout defense.

Williams struggled to avoid turnovers in the Bears' two playoff games, too. However, he made more than enough game-changing plays to overcome them. I say this with the caveat that I do not, in any way, blame him for the game-deciding interception against Los Angeles. That looked like a situation where DJ Moore not only slowed up on his route but also didn't run it to the correct depth.

Williams' recent interceptions don't change the fact that he has been historically great at protecting the football through his first two years. It doesn't change the fact that he set a franchise record for passing yards (3,942) and led the most comebacks in NFL history (7) for a player under the age of 25.

Caleb Williams has 7⃣ fourth-quarter comebacks this season, including playoffs, the most in a season by any QB under the age of 25 in NFL history 💪@ChicagoBears | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/Z3AduOA0XW
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) January 11, 2026

The Bears have found their franchise quarterback. They don't need to concern themselves with comparisons to the the Patriots found.

This is not a situation where they passed up on Patrick Mahomes to draft Mitchell Trubisky. I fully expect both Maye and Williams to battle it out for MVP over the next decade.

Likewise, this is also not a situation where they went with Marc Trestman over Bruce Arians (that one really hurt because he wanted to be here). It won't be a situation where they passed up on Kevin O'Connell for Matt Eberflus. It'll be nothing of the sort, in fact.

Ben Johnson might not be perfect, but I still think he was the top candidate during last offseason's hiring cycle. He immediately turned the Bears' offense into a legit powerhouse. They set a franchise record for total touchdowns in a season and finished with the league's sixth-ranked offense one year after they finished dead last in the same category.

On top of Chicago's undeniable offense breakthrough under his leadership, Johnson also checked every box he needed to check (besides the one where he learns to kick a field goal instead of going for it on every fourth-and-short regardless of the situation). He instilled a winning culture and a previously unforeseen level of belief. The 2025 Chicago Bears didn't have an ounce of quit in them. They didn't see any deficit as too much to overcome, and Johnson deserves credit for instilling that confidence.

The Patriots may be positioned for a sustained run of extreme success. Good for them. The same can be said for the Bears, though.