Chicago Bears: A breakdown with grades of Ryan Pace’s 2021 draft trades
Summary of the Chicago Bears draft picks, trades and players
Now, let us look at everything from an overall perspective, shall we? In order to look at this as a whole, we will need to look at what the Chicago Bears started off with and what they finished with in the end. In order to do this, we will need to look at both the 2021 NFL Draft and the 2022 NFL Draft.
Ryan Pace had eight picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Since we know what specific picks the team had, we can be more specific with the 2021 picks than we can the 2022 picks — that is okay.
Chicago Bears 2021 Draft Picks (Before)
- 2021 1st (20)
- 2021 2nd (52)
- 2021 3rd (83)
- 2021 5th (165)
- 2021 6th (204)
- 2021 6th (208)
- 2021 6th (221)
- 2021 6th (228)
Chicago Bears 2021 Draft Picks (After)
- 2021 1st (11) – Justin Fields, QB
- 2021 2nd (39) – Teven Jenkins, OT
- 2021 5th (151) – Larry Borom, OT
- 2021 6th (217) – Khalil Herbert, RB
- 2021 6th (221) – Dazz Newsome, WR
- 2021 6th (228) – Thomas Graham, CB
- 2021 7th (250) – Khyiris Tonga, DT
As you can see, the Chicago Bears went from having eight draft picks to finishing with only seven. I know, that doesn’t seem like a big difference, but here is what stands out and is worth keeping an eye on in the future. The team went from having three picks within the first 85 to only having two. However, those two were within the first 40 picks, whereas originally the Bears only had one pick in the first 40.
Although it takes a few years before we can actually “grade” a draft based on player performance, it is safe to say that the Chicago Bears won this draft no matter how it plays out. I know, that sounds weird to say, but Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy took their shots and look to have landed a franchise quarterback and future lock as either a left or right tackle. These two positions are key to any NFL organization — something this team has been lacking for a while now.
What did they give up in the process though? Well, the Bears originally had one pick in each of the seven rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft. Now, they do not have a first or fourth-round pick. The first-rounder obviously hurts the most. I do not see the Bears finishing the season so poorly to be a top-10 pick in 2022. However, I also don’t see them winning a Super Bowl. Therefore, the first-round pick they send to the Giants will likely land in the 15-25 range.
Should Justin Fields become the franchise quarterback most (including myself) believe he will be, then losing that first-round pick will be well worth it. As far as the fourth-rounder, I am not too concerned about the team being without that pick.
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To summarize, the Chicago Bears started with 15 draft picks prior to the 2021 NFL Draft. Now that the draft is over, the team had 12 total picks between 2021 and 2022, but most importantly the Bears now have a top-five quarterback prospect and a top-five offensive tackle prospect. Let’s see how it all plays out. As for now, the Chicago Bears get an overall grade of an A.