Chicago Bears: Regrading Ryan Pace’s 2015 NFL Draft Selections

Four years later, we re-grade Ryan Pace’s original draft class.

After the Chicago Bears’ 2018 season, it’s hard to argue that Ryan Pace has built one of the strongest rosters in the NFL. Some of the players he nabbed through free agency, but many of the players he built through the draft and his UDFA classes.

Pace’s draft classes have been fantastic over the last couple of years, but there’s no doubt he started slower and has been stronger as the years progressed. Pace’s first draft class has been marred by the selection of Kevin White, but was the rest of the class as weak?

Let’s go back to Ryan Pace’s original draft class from 2015 and give the class its final grades. These grades are based on the slot in which these players were selected and whether that player exceed expectations or failed to do so. If you match expectations, that player receives a C grade.

My grades are based on the expectation that a first round selection (especially a top ten pick) should be a borderline Pro Bowl player. A second round selection should be a starter. A third round pick is a borderline starter/solid rotational player. A fourth round pick is a backup. A fifth round pick is a borderline backup. A sixth or a seventh round pick is basically a success if they can keep a roster spot for the length of their rookie contracts and anything found from a UDFA is a bonus.