Chicago Bears - Fantasy News

Mitch Trubisky 2017 Fantasy Projections

by Adam Markowitz

8/11/17

NFL

Chicago Bears

Mitchell Trubisky

The Chicago Bears made one of the crazier moves in the NFL Draft in recent years when they coughed up two third-round picks and a fourth-round pick to move up just one spot from No. 3 to No. 2, where San Francisco was slotted. Instead of making the somewhat logical selection of Solomon Thomas, the Bears went with North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

No one figures that Trubisky will be cast into a starting role in 2017, so that's a lot of draft capital to give up on a man who almost certainly would have been available at No. 3 and might have been available much later in the draft.

Still, Mike Glennon is the only man standing between Trubisky and regular snaps under center in the Windy City. His fantasy relevance begs to be analyzed if he ultimately gets to play in his first year in the NFL.

Why Mitch Trubisky Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Keeper

We'll admit that it's hard to see Trubisky turning into a legitimate fantasy superstar in his first year in the NFL. He's obviously being blocked by Glennon, but his bigger problem if he actually does end up playing is the lack of talent around him. Kevin White hasn't been able to stay healthy yet in his NFL career, and though Cameron Meredith busted onto the scene last year with 888 yards and four touchdowns, he's far from a No. 1 wide receiver.

Chicago tried its best to bring in some respectable pass catchers, but Markus Wheaton, Kendall Wright, Rueben Randle and Victor Cruz weren't exactly tearing it up in their former homes.

Trubisky was considered to be one of the more athletic pivots in the nation, and he could have some hidden Dober Fantasy Points with his ability to run the ball. Perhaps his greatest ability though, is to not screw up. The former Mr. Ohio Football had a career interception rate of just 1.75 percent.

Why Mitch Trubisky Will Be A 2017 Fantasy Football Dud

Lack of playing time aside, Trubisky could run into huge issues on the field as well. Most recognize that he's cerebral and has a big enough arm to play in the NFL, but the mass majority of his snaps were in the shotgun in college. He was tasked with running a modified version of the West Coast offense, and it's going to take him some time to get ready to play at the NFL level.

By and large, "system" quarterbacks haven't worked in the NFL. For the most part, the really successful signal callers at this level came out of programs with pro-style offenses. There are exceptions to the rule, and perhaps Trubisky could be amongst them. But look at how badly Jared Goff struggled last season. It's hard to see Trubisky doing any better in Chicago, particularly since his playing time—if it comes at all—will be later in the season when the weather in the Windy City is prohibitive for passing games.

There's also probably a reason why UNC head coach Larry Fedora kept Trubisky on the bench in both his freshman and sophomore seasons in favor of Marquise Williams for the most part.

There was also a bit of a degree of regression at the end of Trubisky's college career. He only went 23-of-39 passing against Stanford in the Sun Bowl, throwing two of his six interceptions on the season in that game. Trubisky also had a game against Virginia Tech in which he went just 13-of-33 through the air for 58 yards and two interceptions.

It all really doesn't add up. Trubisky was overstated as the No. 2 pick in the Draft, and there aren't many quarterbacks whom we would be comfortable using him against in our Dober NFL matchups.