CJ Stroud looks absolutely amazing and on a team that I would say is on par with our roster at best.
Poles said all along he needed to be blown away to stick at #1 and take a QB last year. By the time the combine rolled around he all but announced to the world the pick was for sale. I understand Fields showed flashes towards the end of last year and that played into that decision.
Fast forward to now and Stroud is blowing everyone away.
I think it’s fair to question what our staff missed on Stroud to be out on him immediately and whether or not we should be worried about them making the next decision on who our QB is.
20/20 hindsight – I would much rather have Stroud instead of the DJ Moore package and it’s not even close. Give me a franchise QB and figure out the rest of the line and WRs after that.
While it has not worked out this way, the general wisdom was that Fields flashed enough to keep his job one more year (which he did IMO) and that was primed to take the 3rd year leap with the addition of a true WR1 (which he did not IMO).
I think that Stroud will ultimately end up being the real deal, but I think it is too hasty to crown him after 10 games.
The Bears might not end up with a lot of wins this year, but Poles set up this team to continue its growth. The Bears received a haul back for the Number 1 pick, and could potentially up with the Number 1 overall pick again this year along with a WR1, RT, and young defensive assets that continue to grow. The defense has already improved, and could be 1-2 DL away from being truly formidable.