Did Mitch Trubisky finally unlock his potential this offseason?

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When a quarterback is selected with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft, it's assumed he possesses a special skill set. He's supposed to be a franchise-changing player, even if he needs time to develop. In the case of Mitch Trubisky, the Bears are entering Year 4 and are still waiting for that next step to come.

Maybe, just maybe, Trubisky finally discovered what's been missing in his pro game this offseason: better mechanics.

Trubisky told reporters during a Zoom call on Friday that he spent time this offseason working on his mechanics for the first time in his career. While that may seem mind-boggling considering how fundamental good mechanics are to the quarterback position, it's better late than never.

"Working with Jeff (Christensen) has been awesome, too, just how he coaches the quarterback position and how much he knows about just getting back to the simple mechanics of the game," Trubisky said of his time spent with the respected quarterback guru. "I really haven’t ever adjusted my mechanics, but working with him, I feel like my footwork and mechanics have gotten a lot better. I think it all worked out for the best and it was kinda meant to be that I stayed here local and just got some great work in that way.

"Hopefully it shows up on tape this year just me having better balance in the pocket. I did a couple of things with footwork and just how I'm holding the ball and where my release is coming from and stuff like that. So it's really the first time I ever adjusted my mechanics and I just really loved working with Jeff and how he approaches coaching the quarterback position and how he's studied the great players who have played this position and how he translates that to coaching. I feel like my motion is better. I feel like I'm more in balance and the ball is coming out more accurately. So I'm confident with where I'm at right now and how all that work has helped me this offseason. So I'm excited about it."

The COVID-19 pandemic will limit the Bears' ability to determine the winner of this summer's quarterback competition to Trubisky and Nick Foles' performances during training camp practices, where improved mechanics from Trubisky will have a better chance to shine. If he looks like a rebuilt quarterback who's throwing the ball with velocity and accuracy from a newfound release point and better footwork, there's no doubt Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace will give him the nod for Week 1.

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