The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields in order to clear the way for them to select USC’s Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft later this month, but Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson thinks the Bears are making a mistake.
During a recent interview with Chris Tomasson of The Denver Gazette, Dickerson said he thinks the Bears are going to face the same problems with Williams that they did with Fields.
“The deal in Chicago with them drafting the kid from USC, Caleb Williams, and getting rid of that quarterback, I think they’re going to have the same situation,” Dickerson said. “Their offensive line is not good. He’s going to be running for his life.”
Fields was sacked 44 times in 13 games this past season and was sacked a total of 135 times in 40 contests across three seasons with the Bears. In 2022, he was sacked 55 times, which led the league.
Dickerson thinks Chicago should have simply held on to Fields and then traded down from No. 1 to pick up some offensive line help.
“I think they probably should have kept what they had and traded down to get a couple of good offensive linemen because you’ve got to protect what you’ve got,” Dickerson said. “I think you’ll see the same thing (with Williams) that you saw with Justin Fields. And I don’t think Caleb is as fast as Justin Fields, and he’ll be running for his life.”
The problem with Dickerson’s assessment is that many feel that Williams is a generational talent, and taking that into consideration, you can understand why Chicago traded Fields—who was a disappointment in the Windy City—in order to select Williams.
Of course, one can argue that the Bears do a poor job of developing quarterbacks, and the franchise’s history dubious history with signal-callers could support that thesis. But could Chicago seriously risk passing on Williams just to give Fields another chance?
The Bears certainly need to address their offensive line. Dickerson is correct in that assertion. But they probably couldn’t afford to trade out of the No. 1 pick and miss the chance to draft Williams.
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