The Chicago Bears entered the 2023 offseason with a major decision to make. With the No. 1 pick in the draft, did the team want to select one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft, resetting the clock at the position? Or were they going to commit long-term to Justin Fields as their franchise quarterback?
There were whispers that Chicago was leaning toward replacing Fields, but they ended up being just that; rumors. The Bears affirmed their commitment to Fields when they traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for a package of four draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore.
Chicago did their work on analyzing the 2023 quarterback class. Ultimately, head coach Matt Eberflus said they are confident they made the right decision to move forward with Fields as their guy.
While the Bears won’t be using their first-round pick on a signal caller, it doesn’t mean they will ignore the position for the entire draft. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to find a developmental prospect to sit and learn behind Fields and the newly signed P.J. Walker, potentially taking over as the backup down the road.
One player to keep an eye on in that regard is Aidan O’Connell. The Purdue product is going to have a busy pre-draft process. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, he has already had a private workout with the Dallas Cowboys this week.
More are coming in the future as the Bears are one of many teams working him out. The New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts all have private workouts set up. He has done Zoom meetings with 10 teams already as well.
Projected to be a Day 3 pick, O’Connell could really improve his draft stock with some good workouts. Teams think highly enough of him as a development player, as he is believed to have real backup potential in the NFL.
As we saw last season, with how many quarterbacks for contending teams went down with injuries, backup quarterback is a very important position. O’Connell has limited arm strength, as he can make all the throws at the short and intermediate levels but has some inconsistencies on deep balls.
Given the amount of talent that left Purdue after the 2021 season, a lot of pressure was on O’Connell to perform. While his production wasn’t as impressive in 2022 as in 2021, the tools are there for him to be a solid game-manager type of quarterback at the next level. For a late-round prospect, turning into a reliable backup would be considered a win.