The Bears are on course to pick a first round next year for the first time since 2018, and heavy focus has already been placed on the quarterback position with that selection.
With Mitchell Trubisky deviating from his five-year option and Tyler Bray currently on a one-year deal, Nick Foles will be the only quarterback the Bears have under contract in the 2021. offseasons, with no real replacement plan in place, remains likely to look for a quarterback in next year’s draft. If ESPN concept guru Todd McShay’s latest mock design is any indication, they could find their next face of the franchise in the first round.
McShay on Wednesday released an early 2021 mock draft (ESPN + status required), and he selected North Dakota State sophomore quarterback Trey Lance with pick no. 14.
Here’s what McShay had to say about the selection:
Lance is big, athletic and tough, and he absolutely dominated the FCS last season. He threw zero interceptions on nearly 300 pass attempts in 2019 and offered dual-threat production, rushing for 50-plus yards in nine of his 16 games. The Bears need a man they can build around them, and they can not afford this time. Chicago’s thoughts on Mitchell Trubisky were made clear when it failed to give him his fifth-year option and signed a nearly 32-year-old Foles coming off an injury-plagued, bad 2019 season. Lance is a sophomore sophomore with some questions that still need to be answered – including whether he wants to explain the concept anyway – but the Bears would love to get this talented signal caller in the middle of the first round based on its ceiling.
Lance broke out last season, taking over Bison’s starting quarterback career from the Easton Stick pick in the fifth round of 2019 after redshirt his first year on campus. He threw for 2,786 yards, 28 touchdowns and no interceptions with a 66.9 completion percentage. He also finished with 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, solidifying his value as one of the best scrambling quarterbacks in the nation. With Lance at the center, North Dakota State finished with an unbeaten record of 16-0 and a FCS championship victory.
While not at the same level of national footing as fellow perspectives Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, Lance has been tremendously upbeat since the 2020 concept came to a conclusion. It’s not necessarily surprising, either, because he has all the tools to be a quality starting quarterback in the NFL. He has natural arm strength and can easily hit the deep ball and deliver throws at high speed from the platform. He has also shown a lot of promise in his anticipating skills, and receivers more often than not in the gong. Lance is a well-built player at 6-foot-3 and 221 pounds, and his game-breaking athleticism would make him a very difficult dual-threat quarterback for opposing defenses to plan for.
Lance is not a perfect prospect because he is still a work in progress. His zero interceptions – though impressive – are a bit misleading, as he made his fair share of forced reads and was the proponent of some drop interceptions. His poise in a collapsing pocket can also improve: although he can evade defenders with pure athleticism, he can adjust work to his feet and stay calm and collect under duress. Plus, he currently has only one season of starting play against FCS competition, and with the Missouri Valley Football Conference currently postponing games until the spring, he can introduce the concept with a limited sample size.
With Foles on tow, the Bears can afford to take Lance and have him sit for a while while adapting to the NFL style of play. He may not have as high of a floor as Lawrence as Fields, but his ceiling is probably just as high, and that may be too tempting for Chicago to continue next April.
