The one big difference between the mistake that was Mitch Trubisky and the 2021 NFL was collaboration. Ryan Pace said that himself. He admitted that while John Fox may not have been excited about Mitch Trubisky, he did not value his opinion enough and that was a mistake. This time, Ryan Pace said he was going to trust Matt Nagy.
Many fans do not like Matt Nagy because of his failures with Mitch Trubisky but seeing Trubisky fall to such lows in free agency should show you what Nagy was working with. So, this time around Ryan Pace valued the opinion of his head coach and came away with Justin Fields.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and say that Justin Fields is the next Patrick Mahomes, who fell into this range and had a Matt Nagy offense go get him. However, it is clear with the drafting of Justin Fields that Nagy had a huge influence on this pick.
Nagy was spotted at North Dakota State, Alabama, and Ohio State Pro days. So was Pace in most cases, but Nagy was front and center, talking to these players, getting his hands on them, and meeting them.
Ryan Pace has had an infatuation with finding the next Drew Brees. Everyone assumed that Nagy wanted his next Alex Smith, but he was on a staff that came up short with Smith and moved to Mahomes. He saw Mahomes at practice and knew that offense could take a step forward.
So, while Nagy likes Smith the person, he knows that getting a player who can move and throw and create like Fields is a difference-maker. He knows that while Pace may want a Brees, Nagy wants more.
If the pick hits, Ryan Pace is going to get credit, and he deserves it. However, it cannot be emphasized enough that Nagy did not draft Trubisky and did draft Fields. This one is on Nagy and it is clear he had a huge hand in this decision. Nagy deserved to pick a QB of his own and got that shot. Now, we get to see FIelds with Nagy.