Several of the NFL's top quarterbacks were not top draft picks. Aaron Rodgers dipped in the draft. Drew Brees bounced around teams after being taken in the second round. Tom Brady was not selected until the sixth round. In a year where the quarterback position runs deep in the draft, a future Tom Brady could be lingering in the fourth round or so. In need of another quarterback addition, the Chicago Bears do not see things that way.
The Bears need a quality backup for Jay Cutler. The quarterback does not have the best track record when it comes to injuries so having a quality replacement to keep the team afloat is crucial. Josh McCown is gone. He emerged as a true starter thanks to a Cutler injury and signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now in need of backup, many predicted the Bears would select a late-round rookie to develop. However, general manager Phil Emery does not see the point.
"I just did a little study. It's very interesting," Emery said, via ESPN.com. "That developmental theory doesn't hold a whole lot of water. There's entire classes of quarterbacks, since '06, I went back and looked at from Jay's on -- when people say developmental quarterbacks, OK, so who has gotten developed? There isn't a single quarterback after the third round since 2006 that has been a long-term starter. So you're either developing thirds, and most of them have been wiped out of the league. So to get a quality quarterback, you've got to draft them high. That 2012 class is a blip on the radar that's unusual, highly unusual."
Right now, Emery appears ready to place his faith in Jordan Palmer as the team's No. 2 option. Palmer's resume reads as three years barely playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, one year on the bench with Jacksonville and now he is with the Chicago Bears. He has 59 yards to his name in a career that started in 2008. Emery believes that is better than drafting someone like AJ McCarron or Aaron Murray to place on the roster?
"Most of the starters in this league come from the first and second round," Emery said. "So that's where you need to take a quarterback. So when you talk about quarterback every year, they have to be somebody that you truly believe will beat out the second and third quarterback that you perceive on your roster. And if not, history shows that you shouldn't make that pick."
Yes, getting the next Brady on the roster is certainly a long shot, but it is a better shot than making way through the free agency pool of cast-off veterans. Head coach Marc Trestman can certainly coach up a quarterback no matter what form they come in, but Palmer is no McCown and the Bears need another option.
