Ryan Pace wide receiver plan boils down to his Saintly heritage
It’s clearer than ever what Pace is trying to do. He’s trying to reconstruct the same type of roster that resulted in the 2009 New Orleans Saints Super Bowl championship. That makes sense. He saw that group get built from the ground up. He knows the blueprint and what to do. Everything up to this point has reflected that philosophy.
Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen are Deuce McCallister and Reggie Bush. Mitch Trubisky is Drew Brees. Akiem Hicks is Will Smith. Danny Trevathan is Jonathan Vilma. Eddie Jackson is Malcolm Jenkins. The similarities are striking. The last remaining obstacle short of the offensive head coach to match Sean Payton is the wide receivers.
How did the Saints go about building that deep and diverse group that took the NFL by storm eight years ago? Learning that may give a glimpse into what Pace has planned.
2009 Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints
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- Devery Henderson already on roster
- Drew Brees arrives in 2006
- Marques Colston drafted in 2006 (7th round)
- Robert Meachem drafted in 2007 (1st round)
- Lance Moore signed as UDFA in 2007
A few things stand out there. For one the Saints operated methodically. They already had a good receiver on the roster in Henderson. Then they got a stroke of good luck, finding Colston in the seventh round the same year Brees arrived. It was the next year that they made their big investment, going with Meachem in the first round and then landing a bonus in Moore as an undrafted addition. No veteran free agents. No trade acquisitions. Purely drafted or undrafted players.
Pace may be set up much the same way. He already has a proven receiver on the roster. That’s Cameron Meredith. Sure he’ll be coming off a torn ACL next year but it’s not unreasonable to think he can be at least a quality #2 option. Kendall Wright is also decent. He should be able to fill either the Moore or Meachem role. So in truth Pace likely has to find that true go-to target for Mitch.
He doesn’t have to get fancy or creative. Spending a high draft choice next year might be all the Bears have to do to flip the script. Or do like the Saints did in 2007. Grab a receiver early and then another on the undrafted market. Remember that Pace found Meredith that way two years ago. This man has a good eye for receiving talent.
