Ryan Pace hasn’t had it easy since taking over as Chicago Bears GM. He inherited the oldest roster in the NFL in 2015. The team was horribly fractured behind the scenes with dissension everywhere. Defensively it was the worst unit seen by this city maybe ever. Pace had to tear everything down to the bedrock and start from scratch. Over the course of three seasons, he completely rebuilt the roster. By 2018, the Bears had the best defense in the NFL and won the division.
Since then they haven’t had a losing season and made the playoffs again last year. While that might be a paltry accomplishment to some, it deserves more praise. People don’t appreciate the amount of work he put in to make that happen. Nor how good he actually was at acquiring talent. Don’t believe it? Pro Football Focus offered a perfect example. Sam Monson provided his list of the most underrated player from every NFL team going into the 2021 season.
Where it gets really interesting? Five of them were either signed or drafted by Pace since he became GM six years ago.
- Chicago Bears: Allen Robinson
- Denver Broncos: Bryce Callahan
- Green Bay Packers: Adrian Amos
- Houston Texans: Kevin Pierre-Louis
- Las Vegas Raiders: Nick Kwiatkoski
Quite a list isn’t it?
Robinson was the top free agent addition by the Bears in 2018 and has since become the best receiver they’ve had since Brandon Marshall. Callahan was an undrafted free agent in Pace’s first year and emerged to become one of the best nickel corners in the league. Amos was a 5th round pick that same year and became an immediate starter. Now he’s unfortunately been playing some good football up in Green Bay.
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Pierre-Louis was a late addition to the roster in 2019 and emerged as a highly capable reserve when injuries struck. Kwiatkoski was a 4th round pick in 2016. He carved out a role on special teams but also flashed a ton of skill whenever he got on the field to play defense. His breakout in 2019 proved that much. It was why the Raiders came calling with a strong three-year offer last offseason.
Ryan Pace may have just painted his masterwork
Then again that might just be typical offseason euphoria. Still, it’s hard not to feel optimistic about his latest offseason. Particularly his work in the NFL draft. The top two picks of Justin Fields in the 1st round and Teven Jenkins in the 2nd have received near-universal praise from experts. Fields was seen by many as the second-best QB in the class while Jenkins should’ve been a 1st round pick.
If both end up reaching anywhere close to their potential, the Bears are going to have a long run of success ahead of them. The fact GM Ryan Pace will have pulled that off despite many assuming he’d be fired just months prior would make for quite a story. While criticizing him for his past mistakes is perfectly fair. It is important for fans to remember he has done a lot of good as well.
This list provides a good reminder.
Would Chicago have been better off if he were fired back in January? It’s hard to imagine the Fields move even happens were that the case. The Bears might still be stuck in no-mans-land with no definitive answers at quarterback. Pace has never deviated from one thing. He knows the importance of that position. Something several past Bears GMs can’t say.
