As the countdown towards the 2015 NFL Draft continues, speculation about what all 32 teams will do with their picks to set themselves up for the present and future is rampant. While the media and fan focus largely stays on the present, drafting for the years ahead is a critical aspect of the draft. Whether you are drafting to fill a need for the future or taking a young player to develop, whom your coaching staff believes they can be molded into a very good player.
One of the most fascinating parts of the draft is seeing a new front office enter the war room and walk out with their own draft class. For the first time, we get a glimpse into how the general manager and scouting department think, with an emphasis on how the team will be built for the years ahead.
Given that many new general manager and head coaching changes occur in the midst of a transition by the team, one of the biggest holes on the roster is at quarterback. New regimes typically want to draft their own quarterback and we could see that in Chicago this year.
New general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox surely can't be exuberant over the Bears' quarterback situation. Jay Cutler is the best quarterback on the roster and with $10 million of his 2015 salary already being guaranteed, Chicago has no choice but to keep him and throw him out there.
While Cutler will be the Bears' quarterback in 2015, Chicago should be in desperate search for a quarterback of the future. David Fales couldn't even make the 53-man roster to start the season and when Cutler was benched, Jimmy Clausen played ahead of Fales. So Pace and his scouting department must look towards the 2015 quarterback class to find a quarterback for offensive coordinator Adam Gase to groom and develop.
Unfortunately for Chicago, they couldn't have picked a worst time to be in need of a young quarterback. Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, far and away the two best quarterback prospects, will be gone before Chicago is on the clock with the seventh pick.
Moving further down the quarterback, a sizable gap, leads Chicago to Brett Hundley. He is a mega-project who needs at least two years of training and coaching with an NFL staff. Hundley has the raw tools to be a good NFL quarterback, but is still very raw and is likely a third-round talent.
The demand for quarterbacks likely pushes Hundley further up the draft, with some even speculating he could be taken in the first round. It could lead to Chicago exploring taking Hundley if he is there early in the second round. If Hundley is off the board or Chicago opts to be patient, then they dive deeper into the underwhelming quarterback class. In that case, they are left with options like Bryce Petty, Garrett Grayson or Brandon Bridge.
Chicago needs to draft a quarterback for the future and maybe a few picks go their way and the right quarterback falls into their laps. But given this year's quarterback class, the Bears might just be better off waiting until next year to draft a quarterback.