Chicago Bears: The Ryan Pace Wheelhouse Is Imminent

The Chicago Bears have already, on paper, put together one of the best drafts they’ve had in years. Every pick up to this point looks like an impact player.

Roquan Smith looks like a future star who will man the middle of the Bears defense for the next 10 years. He’s fast, physical and among the smartest defensive players in the 2018 class. He and Danny Trevathan have a chance to wreak havoc. James Daniels is only 20-years old but considered arguably the best center prospect in the class. He combines good size and length with surprising athleticism for such a big man. Add in a good head on his shoulders and he makes the Bears offensive line instantly better.

Last but not least? We have a wide receiver, Anthony Miller. This was the big surprise of the draft. GM Ryan Pace hatched a bombshell when he gave up a future 2nd round pick to move up from the 4th round into the 2nd to secure the wide receiver from Memphis. Many view him as one of the most underrated prospects in the draft. A potential clone of Antonio Brown or Steve Smith thanks to his field speed, route running, quickness, and ultra-competitive nature.

Yet that’s not the most amazing part about all this. The most amazing part is Pace has done all that and he’s only now about to enter his most successful area

Chicago Bears success in mid rounds has been impressive under Pace

One of the hardest things to do in the draft is finding impact players on Day 3. It’s when most of the top talent has been picked clean. Scouts are being challenged in their evaluation of certain prospects that may have been overlooked. So far over the past three years, Pace and his staff have remained surprisingly good at finding quality contributors late, especially in the 4th and 5th rounds.

• Jeremy Langford (4th round, 2015)
• Adrian Amos (5th round, 2015)
• Nick Kwiatkoski (4th round, 2016)
• Jordan Howard (5th round, 2016)
• Eddie Jackson (4th round, 2017)
• Tarik Cohen (4th round, 2017)

Next: Chicago Bears 2018 NFL Draft Tracker and Highlights

The gem of that crop is, of course, Howard, who is a Pro Bowler with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Amos and Jackson are their starting safeties and Cohen might be their most electric playmaker on offense. Langford and Kwiatkoski offered varying degrees of quality play as backups at their respective positions. People underestimate how important this sort of consistent success late in the draft can be.

The Bears are about to go at it again. They have the 115th pick up first. Who will it be this time?