Mitchell Trubisky Fantasy News and Statistics

Whether you call him Mitch or Mitchell, the No. 2 selection in this year’s NFL Draft wants you to know that he can play. The Chicago Bears selected Mitch Trubisky with the highest pick the franchise has had since 1951 and there is already plenty of buzz surrounding him.

You need a quarterback if you want to win in this league, and the Bears finally decided it was time to move on from the Jay Cutler era. Cutler was a perfectly mediocre 51-51 as a starter during eight seasons in Chicago. Rather than continue to fall short of Green Bay in the NFC North, the Bears went out and drafted a player they think can be their own franchise quarterback.

The pressure will be on Trubisky to succeed thanks in no small part to what the Bears gave up to get him. Chicago had the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, but GM Ryan Pace was terrified of another team trading up to select Trubisky and decided to give San Francisco a king’s ransom to make sure it snagged him. The Bears gave up two third-round selections and a fourth-round pick just to move up one spot in the draft. Pace was widely derided for the trade, but if Trubisky pans out, it will be a humorous footnote.

Ask any college football fan who they believed would be the first quarterback selected in the 2017 NFL Draft. You will probably get a dozen or more answers before someone would have said Trubisky. Although North Carolina’s offense wasn’t as productive with Trubisky at the helm instead of Marquise Williams, NFL scouts were enamored with his potential and the consensus was that he wouldn’t fall out of the first round.

Trubisky has the accuracy that coaches always preach. He threw a lot of intermediate and deep passes in Larry Fedora’s offenses and has the touch to float the ball over a defender or rifle it into a tight spot. Trubisky isn’t as tall as some teams would like but is tall enough and has a powerful arm. He lit up most of the defenses he faced last year, and the film from a three-game stretch against James Madison, Pittsburgh, and Florida State was fantastic.

Most of the concerns about him in the NFL revolve around the scheme he played in. Although he was very accurate, Trubisky didn’t have to throw into coverage much with Fedora’s run-pass, option heavy offense. He doesn’t have a great pocket presence and his passes have a tendency to be batted down at the line of scrimmage. However, his ability to throw on the move, especially cross-body, is superb.

Mike Glennon might start the year as the Chicago’s No. 1 option, but it’s only a matter of time before Trubisky gets a shot. This is a rebuilding year for the Bears as they will contend with the 49ers for the title of worst team in the NFC, but Trubisky gives Chicago hope for the future.