NFL Draft 2021: 49ers, 4 other teams who may want Mac Jones

No. 1: Bears should use NFL Draft to grab a quarterback anyway

Unlike the other teams on this list, the Chicago Bears aren’t in a position where they can have one of the top five quarterbacks like Mac Jones fall to them at No. 20 overall. Making things more precarious, head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace should be on the hot seat this season if things don’t turn around, offensively, in Chicago.

Barring the most lucrative and aggressive of trade-ups, it’s going to be awfully difficult for the Bears to move up into the top five without seriously mortgaging their future NFL Draft capital. Possible, yes. Just not overly likely.

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So one should all but cross off players like Justin Fields and Trey Lance from their big board.

Yet Jones is still notably on Chicago’s target list, as broken down by our friends over at Bear Goggles On. The 20th overall pick is a much more realistic spot where Jones should be drafted, if it weren’t for quarterback values always increasing too much leading up to the draft itself.

Even then, trading up for Jones is something the Bears will likely consider anyway. Unless they’re fully planning on hinging their 2021 hopes on aging backups like Andy Dalton and Nick Foles, which isn’t ideal.

Jones would be a safe target for Chicago anyway. And now isn’t the time for Nagy and Pace to be patient, meaning the Bears front-office tandem will have close monitors open for whatever happens with Jones in Round 1.