Chicago Bears: Deep dive into the hype of the 2021 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears future is bright

Since becoming the general manager of the Chicago Bears, Ryan Pace has always doubled down on positions of need. In comes, Andy Dalton and the Chicago Bears draft Justin Fields. In comes, Damien Williams, and the Bears draft Khalil Herbert. Other examples include Marquise Goodwin and Dazz Newsome, Desmond Trufant and Thomas Graham Jr, Elijah Wilkinson and Larry Borom, lastly Angelo Blackson and Khyris Tonga.

Ryan Pace strongly believes in pairing a young rookie with a veteran player regardless of the veteran’s expected. Believe it or not, but that is pretty smart. The plan is for the veteran player to start while grooming the rookie to play to their best potential. Athletic for their position is another theme Ryan Pace still believes in having.

When Ryan Pace brought up Justin Fields during his press conference, he talked about all of the intangibles and then added in, “Oh, by the way, he (Fields) runs a 4.4.” Ryan Pace not only believes that a player needs to be smart enough to play in the NFL, but they need some athletic gifts to do so as well.

Another thing I found interesting about Ryan Pace is that he seems to not care about thresholds when it comes to an offensive lineman. The player with the longest arms that Ryan Pace has ever drafted is Lachavios Simmons. Simmons has 35 1/8-inch arms. That is massive, but last season Pace stated how he could see Simmons play tackle or guard. It wasn’t Simmions who got to see playing time last season, and instead, it was 2020 draft class teammate Arlington Hambright.

While Hambright was playing left guard, he still managed to gain playing time over the long-armed Simmions. The Chicago Bears drafted too rookies that played tackle who have 33-inch or below arm length. The common thought is that one or both will play tackle, just try not to be surprised if they are forced to the interior to start their careers.

Ryan Pace still believes in quality over quantity. The Chicago Bear fans pleaded that Ryan Pace trade down in the first round and gain more picks instead of moving picks for players. Once again, early that did not happen for Pace and the Chicago Bears. Ryan Pace not only traded future draft capital to move up in round one, but he also moved up again on day two to get his guy.