It isn’t the best time to be Ryan Pace right now. The Chicago Bears GM was flying high in 2018 as his team ran off a 12-4 record and made the playoffs. Now they’re in danger of not even finishing .500 in 2019 and big reason for that is the play of his most prominent draft pick: Mitch Trubisky. The quarterback has fallen off a cliff this year with just five touchdown passes in eight weeks and every single stat category trending in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, the quarterbacks that Pace passed on to get him like Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes are thriving with their respective teams. It’s become a humiliation for the Bears and has suddenly put Pace behind the 8-ball. It’s not only Trubisky though. Adam Shaheen, his 2nd round pick from that same draft is also proving to be a terrible misfire as well with virtually no impact in the passing game.
Yet those two have managed to overshadow another player who isn’t living up to his draft billing. One who is almost as big of a disappointment as Trubisky given he was taken in the top 10. That, of course, is Leonard Floyd. Pace sold everybody on the fact that the Georgia linebacker had the pedigree to become a top pass rusher in the NFL. Eight games into this season? He has three sacks.
For all the grief Pace gets for passing on Watson and Mahomes, it’s easy to forget he had another layup in his lap the year before.
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Ryan Pace robbed Bears of a franchise left tackle
Most people know that the Bears took Floyd 9th overall in 2016. What they may not remember is that Laremy Tunsil was still on the board. He was the left tackle out of Ole Miss who’d been widely viewed as the best offensive lineman in the entire draft. A surefire top 5 pick who unfortunately was the victim of sabotage when a video of him smoking marijuana with a gas mask was leaked right before the draft. Teams panicked and allowed him to slide out of the top 10, the Bears included.
Eventually, the Miami Dolphins selected him 13th overall and before long he became their best offensive lineman.
Here’s what NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein had to say about him.
“From a talent and technique standpoint, Tunsil is easily cleanest offensive lineman in the 2016 draft and might be the cleanest prospect period. Tunsil showed signs of rust against Texas A&M in his first game back from a seven-game suspension, and he still kept Myles Garrett in check. Tunsil lacks pure power, but has the body control to be a quality run blocker in space and on levels. Ultimately, his feet, technique and instincts could make him an all-pro and one of the top pass protectors in the NFL.”
Tunsil was eventually traded to the Houston Texans where he has provided an instant impact to their offensive line. In 2018, Deshaun Watson was sacked 62 times. This year with help from the big tackle, he’s on pace to be sacked 44 times. That is a substantial improvement thanks to the arrival of just one man. Try to imagine how the Bears offensive line might look if they had him at left tackle instead of Charles Leno, who has clearly struggled lately.
He’d be doing the team more good than Floyd has. That much is certain.
