Why is Ryan Pace still employed? If people looked at just his track record as Chicago Bears GM in the 1st round, they’d be shocked he wasn’t already fired. Kevin White? Yeesh. Leonard Floyd? Meh. Mitch Trubisky? Hoooh boy. Roquan Smith? Good enough. One hit in four tries is not good. Yet Pace remains firmly in charge. Why? A lot of it has to do with the uncommon success he’s enjoyed in the later rounds.
Since 2015, the Bears have managed to secure no fewer than six players in the 4th round or later who went on to start at least one season for the team. This includes All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson, All-Pro punt returner Tarik Cohen, and former Pro Bowl running back Jordan Howard. Pace and his scouts have done tremendous work at digging up quality talents overlooked by other teams.
Looking towards the 2020 draft and the unusual situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, this could be a year tailormade for Pace.
“Scouts I have spoken to have said the cleaner, safer picks will rule the day in this draft, that teams will take the players whose medical and background information they are comfortable with. That will lead to some players with good game tape falling in the draft because of unknowns and creates the possibility the Bears could consider a player in Round 5 or maybe even Round 6 who, with all of the boxes checked, would have come off the board much higher.”
This is potentially huge for the Bears. They don’t have any 1st, 3rd, or 4th round selections this year. That said, they do have five picks between rounds 5 and 7. They could also maneuver one of their 2nd rounders down the board to acquire more. The inability of teams to evaluate the medical situations of prospects is making them wary of taking risks with their higher selections. Pace has already shown he doesn’t mind venturing a gamble on questionable health if the talent is there.
Jackson was coming off a broken leg in 2016 when the Bears drafted him.
Howard battled knee and ankle problems in college, missing seven games.
If he sees a player that is high on his board floating out there in the later rounds but has health concerns, one better expect he’ll grab them. Pace knows his job is at stake. There’s no sense in playing it safe now. He’s survived this long by being aggressive.
