Patrick Mahomes could have joined Chicago and the Bears wouldn’t have to draft Caleb Williams Credit
But before Mahomes was a three-time Super Bowl winner throwing touchdowns to Travis Kelce and occasionally hanging out with Taylor Swift, the son of a baseball pitcher was just a big-armed college quarterback from Texas Tech.
There was a talented QB from North Carolina who had more NFL upside, according to many draft experts.
And the Chicago Bears.
On Thursday in Detroit, the regularly rebuilding Bears are expected to make Caleb Williams the No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft.
Back in 2017, Mitch Trubisky was a rising name on draft boards, while Mahomes was viewed as a risky pick who had inflated numbers playing in the wide open Big 12.
Chicago increasingly became infatuated with Trubisky, who didn’t become a full-time starter at North Carolina until his junior year.
The Bears liked the relatively unproven Tar Heels QB so much that they traded with the San Francisco 49ers to move up in a draft that featured top prospects such as Myles Garrett, Christian McCaffrey, Marlon Humphrey, Jamal Adams, Marshon Lattimore and Deshaun Watson.
