I disagree on the trading up. It’s obvious now in hindsight, but at the time, the Bears were in a pretty good position to get their choice of elite receivers, knowing that Leonard Williams, Scherff and the two QBs were going to be off the board before the Bears pick. Cooper could’ve easily dropped to the Bears, and it seemed likely at the time. Even if someone disagrees on that last point, the fact of the matter is that at the time, Cooper and White were absolutely evenly matched. Sure, there are message board heroes who will stand up now and say they knew all along that Cooper >White, but the large consensus among people who know the game was that they were basically even on potential.
So to look at two receivers who were perceived to be equal at the time and use the foresight of the future to say they should’ve traded up to get the one who actually worked out is intellectually dishonest.
I feel the same way about Trubisky/Watson. Even if Watson ends up being the superior player, I won’t begrudge the Bears for trading up and getting the guy seen by near-consensus as being the best quarterback in the draft, no matter what the message board Svengalis say, not that I’m lumping you into that category.
