Ryan Pace is a difficult man to assess at this point. There is no question the man did a lot of good things when he took over the Chicago Bears as GM. He restored a fractured locker room culture, rebuilt the defense into a top 10 unit, and brought respectability back to the organization after the dumpster fire of the Phil Emery era.
Yet it’s become far too difficult to overlook his failures. Most people will point to the quarterback position in that regard. There is no arguing that. His biggest acquisitions to this point have disappointed in almost every way. Mike Glennon was an overpaid seat warmer who lasted four games. Mitch Trubisky was an expensive #2 pick who clearly couldn’t grasp the game. Now it’s Nick Foles and he’s coming off a rough performance against Indianapolis.
Pace has as bad of a track record at quarterback as any GM currently employed. Hence why a lot of people want him fired. That said, this alone doesn’t explain how persistently bad the offenses have been during his tenure. It goes much deeper than that.
Ryan Pace just doesn’t draft good offense period
The quarterback position is obviously crucial. The most important in the sport. That being said, there are 10 other spots on the field that require good players too. When looking at Pace’s track record, he just hasn’t delivered any true “hits” on that side of the ball.
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Here is a screenshot of every offensive draft pick the Bears have made since 2015. Those boxed in red are ones that Pace traded up to get. Darnell Mooney is excluded because he’s a rookie and it is too early to assess.
Facts are facts. The Bears have made 17 picks outside of 2020 on the offensive side of the ball. They have yet to produce a single superstar player of any kind. Guys like Jordan Howard, Cody Whitehair, Tarik Cohen, James Daniels, Anthony Miller, and David Montgomery can be classified as “okay.” Yet nobody would mistake them for franchise guys.
To date, only Whitehair and Cohen have managed to secure second contracts from the team. Miller is on track for just 532 yards and eight touchdowns. Montgomery is a tough runner but can’t seem to function without good blocking.
Their only proven playmaker is Allen Robinson and he was a free agent.
Pace found some true gems on the defensive side yet that isn’t enough. It takes a complete team to win in the NFL. Since he took over, the offenses have ranked 21st, 15th, 30th, 21st, and 29th. They currently rank 17th and that is likely to drop further. That is the most damning thing with the Bears GM.