Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears Have Had Problems With 1st Rounders For Years

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 11, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) runs with the ball during the first quarter as Chicago Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd (94) defends at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Bears are on their way to another losing season. Fans are grasping for reasons why things have been like this for so long.

The answer to that question lay in their history with the NFL draft. Every pick is important and could end up producing top of the line talent. However, there is no disputing the fact that the most important of those picks lay in the 1st round. These are the selections that represent the best possible opportunity every year for a team to get a difference-maker for the franchise.

It is precisely here that the woes of Bears football can be traced.

The Bears have selected 52 players in the 1st round since the Super Bowl era began in 1966. A total of 17 of them went to at least one Pro Bowl in their careers. Four of those 17 achieved the feat after leaving the organization to go elsewhere. This averages out to a .326 average hit rate.

Here is a comparison  of some other more successful franchises over that same span.

If ever there was an indication of the fact that hitting on the top picks in a draft led to championship success, it’s this list. Every team listed has a higher average hit rate than the Bears, some of them substantially higher. There can be no more condemning evidence of how mishandled those picks have been over the years.

What’s really going to stick in the craw of Bears fans is there was another team that actually had a lesser hit rate in terms of Pro Bowl 1st rounders. That was the Green Bay Packers. They managed just a .237 average. So how can they still have more championships than the Bears? Two of them came during the Lombardi era and most of those players were drafted long before 1966. However, another factor is that many of the 1st round picks who didn’t reach a Pro Bowl still became solid contributor to the team. A total of 14 started more than five seasons for them.

Oct 2, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White (13) is tackled by Detroit Lions cornerback Quandre Diggs (28) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Another way to spin this is by tracing when the Bears had their hits. That amazing run they had in the 1980s wasn’t some sort of situation where the stars aligned. It was set up by a run of quality top picks. From 1975 to 1984 they drafted a total of six Pro Bowlers in the 1st round. The list includes Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, Otis Wilson, Jim McMahon, Jimbo Covert and Wilbur Marshall. All of them were key components to the team winning that Super Bowl championship in 1985.

So when fans wonder why this team has fallen on such hard times, just look at the recent history of the 1st round between their three GMs.

It’s essentially been a mixture of not having 1st rounders due to trades, injuries, bad picks and ill-fated trading of players who no longer fit the scheme. Kyle Long stands as the only good pick they’ve had in the past 12 seasons. That is bad. Really bad. Granted White and Floyd deserve more time before judgment is passed but so far it’s not looking good. It’s no wonder this franchise can’t beat anybody. They’ve found a way to screw up the easiest pick in the NFL draft repeatedly for well over a decade.

Things will not get better until Ryan Pace or somebody else is able to change that.

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