Last April, the Chicago Bears owned the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which had many wondering if they were going to take Bryce Young or one of the other quarterbacks available.

However, the Bears opted to trade the pick to the Carolina Panthers, who ended up taking Young themselves.

Chicago will face Young and the Panthers on Thursday night, and Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy explained what he and the team saw in Young back in the spring.

“Yeah, we were very impressed with him,” Getsy said, via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago. “We were at his pro day, too, and very impressive. Accuracy was easy. That’s the thing that stood out for the kid is no matter [how far] it was down the field, under 20 yards or under 10 yards, the ability to get the ball out quick. He showed a lot of the cool things you’re looking for in a guy to be a natural passer.”

Of course, Chicago elected to stay with Justin Fields, whom the club took with the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Whether or not that will be the correct decision remains to be seen. While Fields struggled early on in 2023, he showed some flashes of brilliance between Weeks 4 and 5 when he compiled eight touchdowns as opposed to just one interception. He unfortunately went down with a dislocated thumb in Week 6.

Meanwhile, Young has had an up and down rookie campaign. In seven starts this season, he has thrown for 1,375 yards, eight touchdowns and seven picks while completing 63.9 percent of his throws and posting a passer rating of 77.1. He has also carried the ball 17 times for 117 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per tote.

The Bears are just 2-7 on the season. Tyson Bagent has been under center for the club for the past couple of weeks and will probably get the start again on Thursday evening with Fields listed as doubtful.

Meanwhile, the Panthers are 1-7.

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