We seriously need to get over it at this point because there is not a damn thing we or the Bears can do about it anymore. The whole situation has to be looked at in context and not through what we are seeing today because the truth is how all 3 look today (Mitch, Mahomes and Watson) may have looked entirely different had they gone to different teams.
The fact is, going into that 2017 Draft, all 3 guys were considered first rounders but all had their detractions: Mitch only had 13 starts, Mahomes played for Texas Tech and a gimmicky offense, people didn't think Watson could read a defense and wouldn't be able to run like that in the NFL. The truth is, the only one of those 3 that may have looked the part was Watson because on the biggest stage, he balled out against the very best (both those games against Bama). Back in 2017, that is who I would have drafted if I was the Bears.
Why people are super pissed is what we gave up, to move up 1 spot, and picked the guy that has looked promising at times but is far behind the other two. Well, once again, context key so lets look at why:
- Mitch started only 1 season in a very simplistic RPO 1 read offense, put up good numbers
- Mahomes started 2 years + in a precision timing offense (many considered Gimmicky) and had monster numbers
- Watson started 2 years + in a multi-read RPO and put up monster numbers
So we took the guy with the least amount of experience because many though he had the best package of attributes (size, speed, mobility, arm strength, etc).
Now here is where a lot of context comes into play, which means that maybe things don't work out the way we wished if we could do it all over again:
- Mitch goes to a team in full rebuild, with a coaching staff that knows they aren't surviving the year, and plays behind a shit QB in Glennon so basically no way for him to sit, learn and understand. Not to mention, the Bears had basically NOTHING at the skill positions, no elite speed and they were going to have a whole new offense in the next year.
- Mahomes goes to a ready made team, with a system not much different than what he ran in college. He got to sit behind a very solid and intelligent QB in Smith for a full year. He had elite weapons galore around him with track level speed (Hill, Kelce, Hunt). He came into a perfect situation and a very weak division
- Watson goes to a team that had a winning record the previous 3 years, an elite #1 receiver (Hopkins) and coaching staff that had been in place for a couple of years and knew they would be back, and a HC, that for all his faults, does adapt his teams play to what his players are good at.
The fact is Mitch, with plenty of faults of his own, so he isn't off the hook, came into the worst situation of the 3 by far so it's not surprising that he also happens to be the worst of the 3.
Do you honestly think that Mahomes would be doing this well if we had drafted him? No one to throw to, a shit coaching staff that knew they were all getting fired. Mahomes may have more or less ended up like David Carr all those years ago: tons of talent but shit around him and got his ass kicked so bad he was never the same.
That fact is, it is not as simple as saying "If we had only drafted X". Mitch has faults, but the cold hard truth is that as the primary issue is with the Bears Organization as a whole. Mitch is a symptom, not the problem