That Time the Chicago Bears Ducked the Best Supplemental Draft Ever
The Chicago Bears were one of the teams that were the toast of the 1980s. They went to the playoffs five times in the decade, reached two NFC championships, and won the Super Bowl in 1985. However, there is a general feeling that the team missed out on a chance to win more due to a variety of circumstances. One of them being roster mismanagement in the second half of the decade.
What many people tend to forget is it actually started in 1984. It was the first year longtime GM Jim Finks wasn’t in charge. The architect of that ’85 team. On the surface, things seemed to be running along as usual. Their first pick in the draft that year was Wilber Marshall. The future Pro Bowl star outside linebacker of that Buddy Ryan defense.
They also added stalwart special teamer and future Pro Bowl safety Shaun Gayle in the 10th round. So all in all it was a pretty good offseason. What many people refused to recognize at the time is how the Bears threw away a golden opportunity to make it a great one. How so? It happened later that summer in June.
Chicago Bears refusal to enter 1984 supplemental draft cost them
Most people don’t remember the 1984 supplemental draft. That’s because those selection meetings tend to be dry beds when it came to talent. That year was a massive exception though. This is because it was the year teams decided to hold a draft on players who had decided to join the upstart United States Football League.
The idea was that the league wouldn’t last long and those players would soon be out of a job. By holding a draft, teams would hold rights to them whenever it happened. This would avoid an inevitable bidding war for free agents. Several teams were buying into the idea. The Bears were not one of them.
“Some NFL teams may have sensed a quicker-than-anticipated demise. But not everyone was convinced. The Bears traded all of their supplemental picks to the Bengals for three late-round selections in the actual draft. Better a 10th rounder in hand, the Bears reasoned, than a first-rounder indefinitely stationed in Birmingham or Memphis.”
It would prove to be a grave miscalculation. The USFL folded by the end of 1985 and a host of players became available. Those picks the Bears gave up landed in the hands of the Cleveland Browns. Their wily GM Ernie Accorsi used them to get Pro Bowl fullback Kevin Mack and Pro Bowl return man Gerald McNeil.
They weren’t the only ones the Bears could’ve had either.
Future Saints star linebacker Vaughn Johnson was still available when they would’ve been on the board. The same goes for defensive end William Fuller who retired with 100.5 sacks and four Pro Bowls. One team though that greatly benefitted from that draft was the Washington Redskins. They secured Pro Bowl receiver Gary Clark and Pro Bowl return man Clarence Verdin.
Clark was a key factor in helping Washington stun the Bears in the 1986 and 1987 playoffs. He had nine catches for 93 yards between those two games. The Browns? They went to three AFC championships between 1986 and 1989. This largely thanks to the outstanding work they did in that supplemental draft.
All with picks that the Bears could’ve and should’ve kept.