Ryan Pace was a surprise when the Chicago Bears hired him. He came out of left field as Player Personnel Director for the New Orleans Saints. A longtime protege of successful GM Mickey Loomis. Since then Pace has kept close ties to his former team. He brought Josh Lucas, his assistant GM over from there with him. Yet it doesn’t end there.
Pace has also tended to pick up players his former team has discarded over the years. Players he often helped scout and draft. It started back in 2015 when he signed former Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter. A year later he added stud defensive end Akiem Hicks, a former 2nd round pick of the Saints. Since then others like John Jenkins (former 3rd round pick) and Kasim Edebali (former UDFA) have joined that list.
It’s apparent Pace hasn’t lost respect for Loomis’ eye for talent and is willing to give such players a second chance in Chicago. He’s had some success with it as Hicks can attest. Now, in his hour of need, his former team may yet be there to help him at just the right time again.
Saints unload a host of pass rush talent Ryan Pace can scoop up
Cuts are already starting to come in from teams across the NFL. Preseason is over and the rosters must be trimmed from 90 to 53 before 3:00 p.m. CST on September 1st. The Saints got a head start on that with a number of early releases. Some of them have been outright baffling, particularly in regards to their edge rushers as not one, not two, but three interesting names were made available.
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The Saints cut LB/DE Jayrone Elliott, per source.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) August 31, 2018
The Saints are cutting DE George Johnson, per source.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) August 31, 2018
Confirming the Saints cut LB/DE Hau'oli Kikaha and WR Michael Floyd, per source.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) August 31, 2018
Jayrone Elliott, George Johnson, and Hau’oli Kikaha all stood out this preseason for the Saints. Combined they accounted for five sacks, three hits and nine hurries on opposing quarterbacks. Elliott was having an especially solid month and even his teammate, Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore voiced his disapproval of the move when it came down.
— Marshon Lattimore (@shonrp2) August 31, 2018
Why is this significant? The Bears are in dire need of pass rush help. They suffered from serious depth concerns even before training camp got started and it’s only gotten worse since. Leonard Floyd broke his hand in Cincinnati. Aaron Lynch missed camp and all of the preseason with a hamstring issue. Edebali left the finale against Buffalo on a cart. Most of the 20 sacks the team had the past five games came from its defensive line, not the edge rushers.
Kikaha might be the most interesting of the group
While Elliott and Johnson have value, the most fascinating name is Kikaha. He’s a former second round pick for the Saints from back in 2015. A variety of reasons likely went into his being cut. First is health. He missed all of the 2016 season and four games in 2017 with a variety of injuries. Something that’s followed him since college.
The other is scheme fit. Kikaha was drafted by the Saints when they were still running a 3-4 defense, meaning he was meant to play outside linebacker. They have since shifted to a 4-3 and he doesn’t have the ideal size to play defensive end in that system. Hence why his playing time was whittled down from where its been in the past.
The thing is he’s flashed plenty of skill when on the field.
What a jump off the snap by Hau'oli Kikaha here 👀 pic.twitter.com/ByKp00Km6k
— Brandon Thorn (@VeteranScout) August 31, 2015
Kikaha long-arm sack. This guy has torn his ACL 3x. Loved his tape out of Washington. Good to see him back & contributing. #GoSaints pic.twitter.com/yOx8iaacBQ
— Brandon Thorn (@VeteranScout) September 22, 2017
His burst off the snap, violent hands, instinct, and athleticism are tailor-made for outside linebacker in the Bears defense. His health history is a concern, yes. Then again it’s not like he’s going to cost much to sign given he was just cut. If Pace wants to give his team a boost in a badly depleted area, this guy or one of his former teammates would be wise signings.
