Chicago Bears: Taking chance on Jake Fromm both sensible and realistic
Without a first-round pick, the Chicago Bears quarterback options are limited in the 2020 NFL Draft but there could be a potential low-risk, high-reward solution.
The general consensus among the NFL community is the Chicago Bears need to upgrade the quarterback position and move on from Mitch Trubisky. While the Bears have come out and supported the No. 2 overall pick from 2017 as their guy, it doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t tweak the position.
The Bears don’t currently possess a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft thanks to the Khalil Mack trade with the Raiders. So when it comes to the perceived “can’t miss” or “elite” quarterback prospects, they may be out of luck. However, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost.
Jake Fromm of Georgia is an interesting prospect that scouts can’t seem to agree on. One thing they do agree on, however, is that he isn’t a first-round prospect. While the Bears don’t own a first-round pick, they do own two second-round picks.
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The 43rd and 50th overall pick serve as the 11th and 18th selections in Round 2. There is always the chance that Fromm falls to the Bears but, with a handful of quarterback-needy teams ahead of them, they do also have some assets to move up in the round to take him should they need to. It’s a matter of if the move would be worth it. And it could be.
At one point, Fromm was seen as one of the best young quarterbacks in college football. After taking over for an injured Jacob Eason (a potential first-round prospect in this year’s draft after Fromm forced him to transfer to Washington) as a true freshman, he guided a talented Bulldogs team to the National Championship Game. While Georgia lost to Alabama, it was in overtime and Fromm showed tremendous poise for that spot as a true freshman.
While that Georgia team was loaded, it isn’t like the Bears are short on talent either. As is the tradition in Chicago, the Bears feature a very strong defense and a running game that’s only getting better with the emergence of David Montgomery and a slew of other multi-talented backs. A young quarterback could step in and potentially produce.
The potential selection of Fromm is also a low-risk, high-reward proposition. The Bears won’t have to sell the farm to get him nor would they have to break the bank either. This will allow them to use their free agency funds on filling other holes around the roster, such as the offensive line or tight end. The team is already rumored to be high on the Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper.
Adding Fromm also gives Trubisky some competition. It doesn’t outright put a ton of pressure on him but it does give him somebody to nip at his heels a bit. Perhaps this added sense of competition will force Trubisky to dig deep and find something that nobody knew was there. If he doesn’t, then the Bears can always give the reins to Fromm.
When speaking with NBC Chicago during Super Bowl week, Fromm mentioned how the Bears would be “like a home away from home” considering the Bears (as of now) feature four of his former college teammates. He practiced against Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith every day while throwing to Javon Wims and Riley Ridley.
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Fromm also exuded confidence in himself. Many like to critique his arm strength but Fromm wasn’t having it after making all the throws against top-tier competition in his college career. Obviously the NFL is a different animal and the NFL Combine showed his lack of strength in comparison to his peers. But this is something that Bears fans have sorely missed at the position: A guy who not only can play but knows it too.
Nobody knows what will happen in the NFL offseason but it’s always fun to speculate. While the Bears drafting Jake Fromm might not make many headlines, it is the type of low-risk, high-reward move that could pay dividends.