Should the Bears be all-in on trading up to land QB Justin Fields?

The Chicago Bears know all about passing on good quarterback prospects. But perhaps they can rewrite the script in this year’s NFL draft should the San Francisco 49ers suffer the same fate.

For whatever reason, Ohio State quarterback Justin Field has seen his draft stock plummet, which could certainly work in the Bears’ favor. While many still had hope that San Francisco would select Fields, that’s not the belief now heading into the draft.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the 49ers have narrowed their decision down to two prospects — Alabama’s Mac Jones and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, which would leave Fields ripe for the taking.

Now, the Bears are in no place to draft Fields sitting with the 20th overall pick. But there are some options at their disposable, especially if GM Ryan Pace has deemed Fields his guy.

The Atlanta Falcons currently sit at fourth overall, but they’ve made it clear that they’re open to trading out of that pick. But if Fields were to fall outside the top five, that would give the Bears a real chance to trade up for him. The Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers have both been open to trading the No. 6 and No. 8 picks, and Chicago should do whatever it takes to trade up and land Fields.

But the realistic outcome is that the Bears stand pat at No. 20, where they target an offensive tackle, cornerback or wide receiver, while choosing to wait until Day 2 to target a developmental quarterback.

Although, you can never say never with Pace. And if his job really is on the line in 2021, we’ll see him make an aggressive push to trade up and perhaps land Fields.

List

All the teams the Bears could trade up with in the 2021 NFL draft