Here’s the thing about the Chicago Bears, at least when it comes to the time that GM Ryan Pace is in charge. Never presume anything. Just when it seems like you have the measure of this team come draft time? They do something you never see coming. Moving up for Mitch Trubisky in 2017. Grabbing Cole Kmet with their first pick last year. It’s as if Pace gets a twisted satisfaction out of fooling fans and the media.

Now here we are again. This will be the seventh draft Pace has conducted in his tenure as GM. It might be the most important of his career. Rumblings remain loud that he could be fired if the Bears fail to perform better than they did in 2020. This is why many expect him to lean on what he’s best known for. Being aggressive. The Bears need fresh blood at quarterback. The top five could be gone before the end of the top 10. So a move up seems rather likely.

Is that going to be the case though?

At least one notable insider doesn’t think so. Peter Schrager of NFL Network released his latest mock draft. While he didn’t do anything flashy with the Bears’ pick, he did make an interesting statement. One that covers a possibility that lingers in the background regarding Pace’s plan of action. Something he’s never done before in his career up to this point.

“I think the Bears are a prime candidate to move out of the No. 20 spot to collect some additional picks in the later rounds. They love their young WR, Darnell Mooney, but with Allen Robinson on the franchise tag and Anthony Miller’s future unknown, I could see Bateman being the guy if Chicago stays put.”

To this point, Pace has never traded back with his first pick in any draft. In fact, he’s done the opposite. In three of the six drafts he’s conducted, he moved up from the top pick. That happened in 2016, 2017, and 2019. So for him to move down from #20? That would be a major departure from his typical mode of operation. It also makes sense given the context.

Chicago Bears have no reason to stay at #20

The odds of a top quarterback falling to them there are beyond remote. That means they’re likely to focus on other positions of need in this draft with their first pick. Most believe that pick will come down to one of three positions. Wide receiver, offensive tackle, and cornerback. Those also happen to be three of the deepest pools of talent in the 2021 class. So even if the Bears moved down five or six spots, they’d still likely be able to select somebody they graded highly at one of those positions.

Given the age of this current roster, working to fill out the depth chart with more young and cheap talent isn’t a bad plan. Pace has a long history of being able to find value in the later rounds. Chicago already has eight picks in this draft. If they could push it to nine or 10? That would be all the better. The big sticking point is if this happens, it still doesn’t solve the original problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TujOaK7zK8k&ab_channel=SportsProductions

Bears have to address quarterback at some point

Here’s the thing though. Trading down actually presents them with a pair of interesting options. The first is the most straightforward. They move down to later in the 1st round, maybe even to the bottom. After having collected their extra picks, they take the best quarterback on their board. It would likely be one of Kyle Trask, Kellen Mond, or Davis Mills. Names consistently placed in the second-tier group expected to go in the 2nd round.

While some will say that’s reaching too early, the Chicago Bears can justify it thanks to all the extra capital they collected in their move down. Then they can use the remainder of the draft to fill out other positions of need. The other option? Move back a few spots and take a player they like. Then move up from their 2nd round spot to the bottom of the 1st round to grab that quarterback. This way they double-dip at two positions of need.

It will be interesting to see if Pace employs one of these strategies.