NFL: 30 of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history

NFL: 30 of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history: 14. The Chicago Bears take Deshaun Watson

The Chicago Bears couldn’t believe what they were seeing when they took a look at quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. At six foot two, over 210 pounds and chiseled muscles everywhere, Trubisky looked like the perfect player to pick them up from years of mediocre QB play.

To make things even better, Trubisky appeared to be really good during his final college season. In his one year as the full-time starter, Trubisky threw for 3,748 yards, 30 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Even with the third overall pick in the draft, the Bears simply couldn’t wait and decided to move up. Needless to say, they wish they could do this one over. Trubisky has been horrific. He’s inaccurate, shaky in the pocket and doesn’t appear to have that “it” factor.

What if, instead of choosing Trubisky, the Bears took Deshaun Watson? To be fair, arguably the best quarterback in the league is Patrick Mahomes who was also in that draft but he was never viewed the way Watson was. Leading into the 2017 draft, Watson seemingly had the edge. He was a multiple-time Heisman trophy finalist and took down Alabama in the National title game.

For some reason, he slid all the way down to 12. So far, all he’s done is become one of the best players in the league. His 2020 campaign was off the charts, he threw for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. As for Trubisky, he’s currently playing a backup role elsewhere. Considering how good the Bear are defensively, they would easily be considered Super Bowl contenders with someone like Watson behind center. Or, even more likely, they would have taken home the Lombardi trophy by now. The fact that he was right there when the Bears were on the clock, eats away at fans every day as they wonder how magical their ride with Watson would have been.