Pace; "We Need To Nail This Draft"

[soulman]

We need to nail this draft': With only 5 picks, Bears GM Ryan Pace aims to stay aggressive

Photos of the Bears general manager Ryan Pace

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-nfl-draft-ryan-pace-20190423-story.html

Dan WiedererContact ReporterChicago Tribune

 

Ryan Pace isn’t sure how he’ll handle himself Thursday night. For the first time in his tenure as Bears general manager, Pace will find himself in a relaxed atmosphere at Halas Hall on the first night of the NFL draft. The Bears don’t have a first-round pick. As a matter of fact, Pace’s first selection is scheduled to come in Round 3 late Friday, at No. 87.

Theoretically, that will turn the young GM into the everyfan for the first 2½ rounds. Just watching TV — in a new state-of-the-art draft room at Halas Hall, by the way. Grabbing a few snacks. Maybe playing a few games of tic-tac-toe with scouts and shouting disagreement at Mel Kiper’s pick-by-pick analysis.

But when the first-round pick the Bears originally owned comes on the clock Thursday? The one at No. 24 that now belongs to the Raiders? Well, Pace has the perfect plan.

“The Khalil Mack highlights will come on instantly,” he said with a grin Tuesday. “That’s the first thing that will happen.”

 

Ah, yes. That will be a fitting reminder of why the 2019 draft has become far more boring than usual in Chicago. Pace’s bold September trade for an all-pro edge rusher might have been the biggest catalyst in the Bears’ worst-to-first turnaround last season. Which is why the Round 1 downtime Thursday won’t feel even the least bit distressing in Lake Forest.

And the chances of Pace swashbuckling once again and trading up — way up! — to make the Bears a participant in the draft’s first night? Not going to happen.

“That’d be tough,” Pace conceded. “Just because we don’t have a lot of ammunition.”

Still, Pace made it clear that he understands his responsibility of using the five picks the Bears do have — one each in the third, fourth and fifth rounds and two in the seventh — to push this team closer to Super Bowl glory.

 

“The pressure feels the same to me,” Pace asserted. “I feel like with fewer picks and with later picks, the onus is on us as scouts to hit on these picks. … I feel like we have this momentum. And to keep this momentum going, we need to nail this draft.”

So now comes the wait to see just how Pace and coach Matt Nagy will maneuver through the draft, finding the right mix of players who fit their system and vision. Pace continues to gush about his connection with Nagy and joked that he often can turn on the tape of prospects and immediately identify things that either would drive Nagy nuts or instantly energize him.

“It’s the competitiveness,” Pace added. “A guy playing with that ‘dog’ or energy or swagger. … You can feel a guy's football character on tape, and we're really strong on that.”

It’s widely assumed the Bears will add a running back at some point this weekend. Pace tried to dismiss that notion as just an outside pre-draft “narrative,” doubling down by saying he is thrilled with the current running back stable of Mike Davis, Tarik Cohen and Ryan Nall. Still, it would be a shock if the GM weren’t spending part of his Saturday night postdraft news conference confirming the legitimacy of that narrative and then lauding the vision, versatility and playmaking prowess of the Bears’ newest back.

Without question, that’s the piece the Bears really need to add to improve an offense that didn’t do nearly enough in 2018.

But on the plus side, Pace believes his roster, overall, is as sturdy as it ever has been in April. “There are no pressing, huge needs,” he said. “We can honestly select the best players. And that's a great spot to be in.”

Even if it requires waiting a little longer than usual to make those picks.

In each of Pace’s first four drafts, he made selections in the top 10. Kevin White and Leonard Floyd. Mitch Trubisky and Roquan Smith. This year, with only three picks in the first 220 selections, the Bears will have to be ultraresourceful to get what they truly want.

A division championship team has its eyes set on Super Bowl LIV. And even though the Bears won’t have the opportunity to pick from the top shelf, this weekend will provide an opportunity for Pace to add talent and depth to the roster.

dwiederer@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @danwiederer

[Ty21]

1 hour ago, soulman said:

saying he is thrilled with the current running back stable of Mike Davis, Tarik Cohen and Ryan Nall.

Lol

[soulman]

1 hour ago, Tyty said:

Lol

We'll just have to give him credit for what little smoke screen he could muster.

But then isn't Davis, Cohen, and Nall an upgrade from Howard, Cohen, and Mizzell?

If he likes those three then adds a back like Justice Hill to replace Mizzell it's much better.

[BACK2MACKSACK]

Even with a 3rd round pick I'm excited to see what he can do with our mid to late round picks. He's shown he can hit on those at a fairly high rate while most GMs fail miserably.

[WindyCity]

They need to eat this draft as paying the bill for Mack and hope they land someone who can help.

It is going to be interesting to see what Pace can do as the short stack at the table.

[soulman]

45 minutes ago, WindyCity said:

They need to eat this draft as paying the bill for Mack and hope they land someone who can help.

It is going to be interesting to see what Pace can do as the short stack at the table.

That doesn't seem to be Pace's attitude at all though.

If he had never had success in the middle and late rounds and UDFA I could better understand some pessimism but that's not the case.

[WindyCity]

Just now, soulman said:

That doesn't seem to be Pace's attitude at all though.

If he had never had success in the middle and late rounds and UDFA I could better understand some pessimism but that's not the case.

Of course it is not his attitude.

But realistically and not press conference speak my guess is that they know they are not going to get a ton from this draft with such limited resources. 

[soulman]

2 hours ago, WindyCity said:

Of course it is not his attitude.

But realistically and not press conference speak my guess is that they know they are not going to get a ton from this draft with such limited resources. 

I'd be content with what I've gone with all along.

One starter in a rotation at RB or TE or both and a defensive player at a spot we'll need someone at in 2020.  Could be CB/SS/Edge/or even ILB.

That's for the mid rounds.  I also expect him to find some talent to develop in the 7th and UDFAs.

It's gonna be tough for anyone to break into a starters role unless injuries play a part in that but there are quite a few backup and back of the roster guys who could be pushed and/or pushed out.  There I'm talking about 3rd year guys who've hit their ceilings.

You can measure success many different ways.

[WindyCity]

Realistic return this draft and then next year with the 2 2nd round picks will be more important in terms of depth vs increasing money.

[Heinz D.]

6 hours ago, BACK2MACKSACK said:

Even with a 3rd round pick I'm excited to see what he can do with our mid to late round picks. He's shown he can hit on those at a fairly high rate while most GMs fail miserably.

He's even done well with undrafted guys. That could continue, as well. 

Howdy, by the way. 

[Madmike90]

What else is Pace going to say before a draft? 😂 bottom line is Pace has done an outstanding job in the mid rounds so far and I have a lot of faith in him finding 2 or 3 guys who can contribute early in specific roles...getting role players this year will be big moving forward where we can then really hit the draft hard in 2020.

[soulman]

3 hours ago, Madmike90 said:

What else is Pace going to say before a draft? 😂 bottom line is Pace has done an outstanding job in the mid rounds so far and I have a lot of faith in him finding 2 or 3 guys who can contribute early in specific roles...getting role players this year will be big moving forward where we can then really hit the draft hard in 2020.

And IMHO that is who we're looking for.  More high floor lower ceiling guys who can come in and contribute now but still have some upside to them.

He has the 7th round and tons of room to add UDFAs who have low floors and higher upside.  If we get one or two future core players from that bunch we're doing good but in rounds 3-5 the focus should not be on long term developmental prospects especially since some of this group lacks the patience to find out whether or not that can be developed.     LOL

[dll2000]

12 hours ago, soulman said:

And IMHO that is who we're looking for.  More high floor lower ceiling guys who can come in and contribute now but still have some upside to them.

He has the 7th round and tons of room to add UDFAs who have low floors and higher upside.  If we get one or two future core players from that bunch we're doing good but in rounds 3-5 the focus should not be on long term developmental prospects especially since some of this group lacks the patience to find out whether or not that can be developed.     LOL

Respectfully disagree. 

I think he has become a high ceiling guy almost all the way in draft starting in 2017 and isn't going to change.   His high floor guys are the FA pick ups and that has become his philosophy until it stops working.  

He isn't above picking for need when he has to.  But mostly he is swinging away with every pick and taking risks as evidenced by Trubisky (one year starter and didn't know NFL passing concepts), Cohen (tiny-small school), Shaheen (basketball player-small school), Jackson (injured), Nichols (small school played out of position).   

[soulman]

4 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Respectfully disagree. 

I think he has become a high ceiling guy almost all the way in draft starting in 2017 and isn't going to change.   His high floor guys are the FA pick ups and that has become his philosophy until it stops working.  

He isn't above picking for need when he has to.  But mostly he is swinging away with every pick and taking risks as evidenced by Trubisky (one year starter and didn't know NFL passing concepts), Cohen (tiny-small school), Shaheen (basketball player-small school), Jackson (injured), Nichols (small school played out of position).   

OK but I wouldn't necessarily call any of those guys low floor guys.  He scouts well and all of those guys have contributed as rookies.  They weren't wild swings based on upside.  That was Kevin White and Pace hasn't made that mistake since.

You may see them as riskier picks but taken where they were with their fit in mind I can almost guarantee you Pace did not see them that way.  Shaheen was probably the most over drafted of that bunch but the jury is still out on him at least in my opinion.

I think he's been just as careful with his 1st and 2nd round picks as well.  Trubisky required a bit more faith but Smith?  Floyd?  Goldman?  Whitehair, Daniels, and Miller?  Yeah, the upside was there but so was a high floor.  These guys have all contributed as rookies.

I'm hearin' ya' but I'm not sold......sorry. 

[dll2000]

5 minutes ago, soulman said:

OK but I wouldn't necessarily call any of those guys low floor guys.  He scouts well and all of those guys have contributed as rookies.  They weren't wild swings based on upside.  That was Kevin White and Pace hasn't made that mistake since.

You may see them as riskier picks but taken where they were with their fit in mind I can almost guarantee you Pace did not see them that way.  Shaheen was probably the most over drafted of that bunch but the jury is still out on him at least in my opinion.

I think he's been just as careful with his 1st and 2nd round picks as well.  Trubisky required a bit more faith but Smith?  Floyd?  Goldman?  Whitehair, Daniels, and Miller?  Yeah, the upside was there but so was a high floor.  These guys have all contributed as rookies.

I'm hearin' ya' but I'm not sold......sorry. 

You say in hindsight.  If many of those guys had higher floors they would have been drafted higher and we wouldn't have got them.  Cohen is 5'6 and 180 lbs.  Nobody is going to say he had a high floor even leaving out small school.  All college players are a risk because of talent jump.  Small school players are greater risk because of greater talent jump.  Even when they play in post season all star games.  

Trubisky could have easily been a massive bust.  Watson was much safer pick given his experience and college success.  Mahomes was Texas Tech air raid guy and still had that unfair stink about him from many.  

Safest picks he has made in last two years are Smith and Daniels, but higher the pick the higher the floor generally.  However, even Daniels had a lot of scouts buzzing about work ethic or love of the game or he would have likely gone in first based on talent.  I'm glad those rumors started.  

Keep in mind I think he evolved in 2017 so I am not even going to discuss 2015 and 2016 during which I believe he was learning and felt pressured to make Vic and Fangio happy.  I think the Floyd pick really was as much of Fangio and Fox choice as a Pace choice.   I say that based on comments all 3 have made.  

I think he continues to evolve albeit at a slower rate now that he is finding success with his current philosophy.