GM Ryan Pace has done a hell of a job at finally getting the Chicago Bears back on their feet. It took four offseasons of ceaseless work that involved purging an entire roster and coaching staff and literally rebuilding it from the ground up. He made some mistakes along the way, but all things considered, he has the franchise in a good place.
Nobody will say the 2019 NFL draft is the most important of his tenure. That was a year ago when everybody knew his seat was getting warm after three years with no winning season. With that out of the way, he’s free to focus on trying to build around the strong, young core he’s already constructed.
One might call this draft the most challenging though. Not only will it be the first one of his career with no pick in the top 11. It’s also his first without a 1st or 2nd rounder at all. The Bears will not select for the first time until the 87th pick on day two of the draft. They also only have five picks in total.
If that weren’t enough, they also have a history with each of the number slots they currently hold. Put simply? None of them bode well. Here’s the list of every pick they’ve made at those spots dating back to the draft’s inaugural year in 1936.
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| 2000 | 3 | 87 | Dustin Lyman | TE |
| 1995 | 3 | 87 | Evan Pilgrim | G |
| 1940 | 10 | 87 | Tom Pace | B |
| 1964 | 9 | 126 | Jay Wilkinson | HB |
| 1954 | 11 | 126 | Ron Wallin | B |
| 1953 | 11 | 126 | Ralph Charney | B |
| 1945 | 13 | 126 | Ralph Ellsworth | B |
| 1939 | 14 | 126 | Anton Stolfa | QB |
| 1954 | 14 | 162 | Ken Miller | B |
| 1953 | 14 | 162 | Harland Carl | HB |
| 2008 | 7 | 222 | Chester Adams | G |
| 1969 | 9 | 222 | Joe Aluise | RB |
| 1954 | 19 | 222 | Jim Lum | T |
| 1977 | 9 | 238 | Nick Buonamici | DT |
| 1964 | 17 | 238 | Constantinos Kasapis | T |
| 1945 | 23 | 238 | Mike Vargon | E |
| 1944 | 23 | 238 | Dick Jamison | T |
Ryan Pace could cement his Chicago Bears legacy with a productive 2019 class
Not exactly a who’s who of Bears legends is it? Of the men on that list, only four of them played in actual games for the team. None of them made it beyond backups. Not the most encouraging reality facing the current regime. While this draft may not be pressing in terms of urgency, everyone is important towards building this roster to a Super Bowl level.
Getting even one productive player out of it could be considered a victory. This is perhaps where Pace can separate himself from his predecessors. Previous Bears GMs failed at those spots. Men who are considered among the best to do it in Chicago from George Halas to Jim Finks. What often separates the good general managers from the average or bad ones is being able to find good players without the high of higher draft slots.
Teams like the Patriots and Ravens have been doing this for years, as have the Saints and Seahawks. Pace has always aimed to get the Bears to this point. Now it’s time to see how good he really is.
