The Chicago Bears have gone about their rebuild with clear intent. Every move to this point has shown a vision from GM Ryan Poles to construct something that can help a young quarterback thrive. To date, every 1st round pick he’s made has been on the offensive side of the ball. Offensive tackle Darnell Wright arrived in 2023. Quarterback Caleb Williams was joined by fellow top 10 pick Rome Odunze in 2024. Now everybody is wondering if the trend will continue this year. In truth, Poles might be about to make a rare bit of draft history.
One of the most discussed possibilities for the Bears at #10 next month is taking a running back, specifically Ashton Jeanty of Boise State. It would be the first time in 20 years the franchise has selected one in the 1st round. Many people can’t understand why they would take a running back one year after focusing on the quarterback. Such an instance doesn’t happen often. Since the 1970 merger, teams took a quarterback and running back in the 1st round in back-to-back drafts only eight times.
Atlanta Falcons
1975 – Steven Bartkowski
1976 – Bubba Bean
2001 – Michael Vick
2002 – T.J. Duckett
Carolina Panthers
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1995 – Kerry Collins
1996 – Tim Biakabutuka
Cincinnati Bengals
2003 – Carson Palmer
2004 – Chris Perry
Dallas Cowboys
1989 – Troy Aikman
1990 – Emmitt Smith
Indianapolis Colts
1998 – Peyton Manning
1999 – Edgerrin James
Las Vegas Raiders
2007 – JaMarcus Russell
2008 – Darren McFadden
Tennessee Titans
1995 – Steve McNair
1996 – Eddie George
What stands out immediately is how successful the formula has been. Five of those eight pairings ended up reaching at least a conference championship together. Two of them reached a Super Bowl.
The Chicago Bears can thrive if they get such a pick right.
Presuming Caleb Williams is the future start the team envisions, history says this team can become very good in a hurry if they end up hitting on a 1st round running back. The year Dallas drafted Smith, they improved from 1-15 to 7-9. He and Aikman went on to win three Super Bowls. Manning and James turned a 3-13 Colts team into a 13-3 team their first year together. Vick and Duckett took a 7-9 team and went 9-6-1 before thumping the Packers in the playoffs.
People always talk about which position you should prioritize in the modern NFL. The truth is successful teams have great quarterbacks and great running backs. The Chicago Bears have an opportunity to get both in the span of one calendar year. Everybody believes Jeanty is that caliber of player. One doesn’t get compared to LaDainian Tomlinson for no reason. The Bears should know this lesson. Each of the last two times that they had good players at those positions at the same time, they won championships (Sid Luckman/Hugh Gallarneau and Jim McMahon/Walter Payton).