It was a surreal scene at Halas Hall on Sunday. GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy brought their offseason to a thrilling finish when they introduced 27-year old edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago media for the first time. Mack had just been the subject a blockbuster trade between the Bears and Oakland Raiders. One in which Pace gave up a large package of draft picks to acquire the former Defensive Player of the Year.
While Bears fans were utterly thrilled with the idea of adding Mack to the defense, one that already finished 2017 among the top 10. Some were concerned about the price they paid.
The Bears won’t have either of their 1st round picks in 2019 and 2020. This has to give fans some bad memories of the Jay Cutler trade. That cost the team those same picks in 2009 and 2010. Those two drafts weren’t terrible but failed to produce any blue chip players. The best they were able to do was Henry Melton and Johnny Knox.
One reason Pace feels somewhat more confident than those outside the building? For starters, he’ll have two 2nd round picks available. Jerry Angelo had zero 10 years ago. The other is that Pace has had a good deal more success at finding quality talent in the later rounds of a draft. He even said one of his goals was adding a few more pieces in that regard during the trade.
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#Bears GM Ryan Pace points to the 2020 2nd round pick they are getting back as an important point during negotiations.
— Aaron (Looney) Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) September 2, 2018
As things stand the Bears will have 12 picks over the next two years, all of them in the 2nd round or later. Perhaps it’s time to remind people about some of the work he’s done in that window since taking over in 2015.
Notable players found by Ryan Pace in 2nd round or later:
- Eddie Goldman (2nd)
- Adrian Amos (5th)
- Cody Whitehair (2nd)
- Jordan Howard (5th)
- Eddie Jackson (4th)
- Tarik Cohen (4th)
Jordan Howard was a Pro Bowler and is a top 6 running back in the NFL. Goldman and Whitehair are two red chip players. As in not stars but really good. Amos and Jackson are a pair of dependable safeties on the back end with a nice blend of different skills. Cohen is one of the more exciting offensive weapons the team has had in ages.
This isn’t counting rookies James Daniels (2nd), Anthony Miller (2nd), and Javon Wims (7th) who all looked like they’ll be bigtime contributors in the near future as well. It took 17 picks for Pace to find the array of names listed above. Is there any reason to think he can’t do more damage with 12 the next two years? Never mind the possibility he could trade around to add even more.
The Bears don’t need the next two drafts to find their core anymore. They’ve done that. The quarterback, the running back, the wide receivers, the offensive line, the pass rushers, the inside linebackers and the secondary are in place. Focus can shift towards keeping the pipeline fed with young depth pieces with high upside.
It’s okay to trust in Pace. Why? His track record says so.
