Whenever you take a quarterback second overall, the pick is going to be looked at with a magnifying glass. This is even more so the case when you traded up to grab him. Add in the fact that two QBs that went after him have shown more to instill confidence in their fanbases in their time, and you have an extremely delicate and highly-scrutinized situation.
This has been the case with Mitchell Trubisky. The Chicago Bears swapped first-round picks with the San Francisco 49ers and gave them two more third-round picks and a fourth to select the UNC QB. Coming out of college, Trubisky was often described as raw. He only started one year as a TarHeel. The decision became more confusing as National Champion Clemson QB Deshaun Watson was still on the board along with Texas Tech gunslinger Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes has only played one season, but it was one of the best in NFL history. The Chiefs’ QB threw for 5,097 yards, 50 TDs, and 12 INTs on his way to an AFC Championship appearance and an MVP. Watson was on his way to an Offensive Rookie of the Year season in 2017 before he tore his ACL. He responded in a big way, totaling 4,165 passing yards, 26 passing TDs, and 9 INTs last season. The 23-year-old added 551 yard and 5 TDs on the ground as well, helping to clinch the AFC South.
Trubisky has been less impressive. He didn’t start right away, replacing journeyman Mike Glennon after four games. From there, in an unimpressive John Fox offense, Trubisky put up the second-worst passer rating (77.5) for any QB with at least 12 starts. The following year, he’d essentially start over in a new system with new HC Matt Nagy. He finished his sophomore campaign with a 95.4 rating, good for 14th out of 19 QBs with at least 14 starts. Yet, the Bears’ defense Trubisky led Chicago to an NFC North title.
The Bears have a clear window of opportunity, and Trubisky had a chance to announce his arrival to the league in the Thursday Night Football season opener. However, the 25-year-old struggled to do much of anything. In a 10-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Trubisky put up only 228 yards with an interception. The critics were out in droves throughout the game as boos rained down from Bears’ fans at Soldier Field. While it was only the first game of the year, the problems that we saw were the same ones we’ve been seeing since his first NFL start.
Reluctance to Make Second Read
This is an issue that’s pretty common with young players entering the league. In college, many offenses are designed to look at one WR. If the play isn’t there, the QB is supposed to use his feet to pick up yards. He’s still extremely quick to pull the ball down and try and take off. Trubisky is athletic, so it can sometimes work out, but he needs to be willing to look at other reads.
This isn’t something that just analysts are noticing; opponents have caught on as well. Packers CBs Jaire Alexander and Tramon Williams spoke about their gameplan and their thoughts on Trubisky. Alexander said, “if his first read isn’t there, then he will turn and run.” Williams added, “we wanted to make [Trubisky] play quarterback… We knew if we could make [Trubisky] play quarterback, we would have a chance.” These are some pretty strong sentiments from some respected defenders.
Failure to Look Off Defenders
This is similar to the first point, but once Trubisky has his sights on a potential target, he doesn’t look anywhere else. There’s no bigger example of that than the game-sealing interception. He stared at Allen Robinson the whole route, never breaking eye-contact. This led S Adrian Amos right to the ball for the easy interception.
Difficulty Throwing to the Left
This is just a compilation showing his struggles when throwing across his body. I’m not sure if this is a mechanics issue or a mental issue. However, to be a successful QB in the National Football League, you have to be able to use the whole field.
With all of this being said, I believe Trubisky’s problems are all fixable. I’m a supporter of the Bears. They were my preseason pick to come out of the NFC. However, a lot of that was based on Trubisky taking at least a step forward. Yes, yes. It’s only one game, but that’s all we have to make judgments on. Maybe the Packers completely shut down the Vikings next week, and we have to give more respect to this revamped Packers’ defense. Until then, I’ll just say that there a few major flaws with the way Mitchell Trubisky is playing right now.