Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
I was hoping the Bears would draft a young quarterback to develop this year. Why do you think they didn't take one?
Peter L.
Wildwood, Illinois
It's just the way the board fell. The Bears never had a quarterback rated higher than the player they chose. Here's how general manager Ryan Pace explained it: "It just never locked in to where we were on the board. Every time our pick came up we had guys clearly graded better than the quarterbacks that were there. There was just never an opportunity where it aligned." Only seven quarterbacks were chosen in the entire draft, the fewest since 1955 when six were selected.
I noticed that all six players the Bears drafted came from big schools in major conferences. Is that part of the new regime's philosophy or just a coincidence?
Matthew W.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Just like the answer to the first question, it's really how the draft went. General manager Ryan Pace pointed out that both he and coach John Fox came from teams that have selected small-school players. When Pace was in New Orleans, the Saints drafted receiver Marques Colston from Hofstra, tackle Jermon Bushrod from Towson and guard Jahri Evans from Bloomsburg University, among others. Said Pace: "Honestly, that's just the way it fell this year. It was one of those things, you look up and you go, 'Oh, wow, good, they were all big schools,' but that wasn't on purpose."
I was surprised that the Bears didn't make any trades in the draft, especially because they had said they wanted to add extra picks. When is the last time that happened?
Steve D.
Monterey, California
The Bears didn't make a trade during the draft this year for the first time since 2010, when they already had dealt their first- and second-round selections to the Broncos to acquire Jay Cutler. Asked how close the Bears came to making a trade this year, general manager Ryan Pace said: "There was nothing that came up honestly where we felt we were willing to back up. It would've been great if it did, but nothing really felt right. We felt good about where we were picking and we didn't want to risk that player."
