3 NFL teams that should've drafted Jalen Carter but blew it

No. 2 NFL team who should have drafted Jalen Carter: Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears held the No. 1 pick, and once upon a time, the expectation would have been for Chicago to select Carter with that very pick. Instead, the Bears traded back to acquire D.J. Moore from the Panthers. Carolina went with Bryce Young at No. 1 and, in theory, the Bears didn't need a QB with Justin Fields on the roster (we can, uh, circle back to that later).

With the No. 9 pick in hand, the Bears had a prime opportunity to, again, select Carter. Instead, the front office moved back one spot to No. 10, allowing the Eagles to bolster their D-line while the Bears opted for help on the offensive side instead, selecting Tennessee OT Darnell Wright.

It's important to recognize the essential nature of offensive linemen in football. It's damn near impossible to build a winner around a shoddy O-line. You need to protect the QB and establish the run game to have any real hope of competing in the postseason. The best passing offenses can be traced back to their offensive lines. The best quarterbacks and running backs are largely dependent on their linemen to clear the pocket or open up runways.

That said... the Bears have maybe the single worst O-line in football, which Wright is very much a part of. He's only a rookie and he cannot single-handedly tie the unit together, but Justin Fields has been on the receiving end of 13 sacks in three games. Yikes!

Meanwhile, the vaunted Bears defense is daydreaming of the 1980s these days. Chicago cannot get stops on a consistent basis and adding the best defensive lineman in the draft might have helped on that front. The Bears are 20th in run defense and 30th in pass defense after three weeks. The D-line needs work, whereas the work already done on the O-line has yielded minimal progress.

Carter has the potential to make every team that passed on him regretful. The Bears passed on him twice.