The 2013 season was one that the Chicago Bears must have thought that they would make the playoffs even with an 8-8 record. A leaky defense allowed too many points and a strong offense couldn’t do enough to get the job done. There is one major thing that the Bears must be thinking about with the 2014 NFL Draft just around the corner though. It is the backup quarterback position behind Jay Cutler.
Last season was a great example of why the team needs to think about drafting someone. After Cutler got hurt, Josh McCown came in and lit the place up and led the Bears nearly to the playoffs on his own. However, the team went back to Cutler to end the season and the Bears lost their last two games to miss the playoffs. Jordan Palmer would be the backup right now but Chicago has to draft a young quarterback to groom when Cutler gets hurt again.
The Bears aren’t going to take anyone in the first three rounds or even the fourth round but their fifth round selection at No. 156 overall needs to be a place where Chicago gets their young quarterback to place behind Cutler. All the top quarterbacks are going to be off the board which is likely going to leave the Bears with players like A.J. McCarron or Aaron Murray if they want to make the move in the fifth round.
McCarron has shown his leadership ability while playing at Alabama while Murray was a four-year starter at Georgia. Both would be excellent choices and players who have been starters for multiple seasons. Palmer has just 59 career passing yards, has never started a NFL game and will be 30 by the time next season begins.
The best choice would be Murray, who can finish recovering from his ACL injury and can learn under Cutler for a year. He can be moved up to the backup role then and likely will find himself in a game sooner than later with Cutler’s injury history. Here is Murray in action during the 2013 season against Clemson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I0fT6DGGCk
The team has invested a lot of money in Cutler but they need to have an insurance policy. That can come from one of the later round quarterbacks in the draft whether it is Murray or McCarron or someone else. It has to be someone though in the draft.