Skip Bayless Gives Outlandish Opinion on Bears Trade of No. 1 Pick

The nature of this opinion isn't all that surprising coming from Bayless given his propensity for controversy to bolster ratings. But from a football standpoint, the outspoken ESPN personality is viewing the situation through too narrow of a lens.

For the Bears, picking Young instead of leveraging the immense value of the first overall pick would be a risky move. Fields has already proven he can break QB rushing records set by Michael Vick, while Young hasn't even taken a snap in the NFL. Showing out in college and interviewing well at the NFL Combine doesn't always equate to success at the highest level.

If the Bears were to put their eggs in Young's basket, he would have to endure similar issues that Fields went through in his first two NFL seasons: a lack of quality receivers and effective protectors across the offensive line. With the trade down, the Bears were able to address the former need in a significant way by acquiring Moore. Additionally, Chicago now has more draft capital to throw at the latter area of need.

Furthermore, picking near the top of a draft that features multiple highly touted QB prospects can be a risky game, and the Bears know the dangers firsthand. Look no further than the 2017 NFL Draft when Patrick Mahomes, Mitch Trubisky, and Deshaun Watson were on the board. Bears fans won't soon forget how big of a bust Trubisky was, while Mahomes fell to the Kansas City Chiefs and now has two Super Bowls on his resume.

The Carolina Panthers better hope they get the No. 1 pick right this year if they want to be competitive within the next half-decade.

Skip Bayless clearly thinks Bryce Young is the real deal, and he's entitled to that opinion. But his subsequent downplaying of Justin Fields and implying that Chicago would be better off holding on to the first pick shows an ignorance of the Bears' current trajectory. Ryan Poles is shaping the team in his vision (which includes Fields), and trading the top pick for an impressive return was a necessary step toward aligning the Bears for sustained future success.