There’s no franchise with a longer NFL tenure than the Chicago Bears.
Though not quite as long as its history, the club’s search for a bona fide Bears franchise quarterback has been a lengthy and fruitless endeavor.
For the first time in the Common Draft Era (since 1967), the Bears selected a player with the No. 1 overall pick, choosing USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams has already made history with his selection alone, but the Bears are hoping he’s the answer for their seemingly endless search for an authentic franchise QB.
A closer look thanks to NFL Research, shows just how significant Williams’ selection was and the daunting history he’s trying to move the franchise past.
On April 25, the Bears drafted Williams, making him the franchise’s first No. 1 overall pick since 77 years prior when Chicago took running back Bob Fenimore in 1947.
The club is hoping for better fortune all these decades later, as the “Blonde Bomber” Fenimore played just one season. Evidence of just how snake-bitten the Bears have been at the quarterback position is evident in history’s hindsight. A year later in 1948, the Bears acquired the rights to another player nicknamed the “Blonde Bomber” with the No. 3 overall pick, QB Bobby Layne. Layne lasted a year with the Bears before eventually settling in for a Hall of Fame career for the archrival Detroit Lions.
