Chicago Bears: Teven Jenkins and Ryan Pace’s history trading up in the draft

If there’s one thing you can’t say about Ryan Pace, it’s that he plays it safe. When Pace sees a player he wants, he gets him, regardless of how much the Chicago Bears have to give up.

This aggressive mindset was key in helping the Bears pull off a trade to acquire Khalil Mack. However, these aggressive tendencies have their pitfalls, and they can be seen firsthand in Pace’s struggles in the draft.

Trading up in drafts has hurt Ryan Pace and the Chicago Bears over and over 

Most analysts will say that you shouldn’t trade up in the draft too often. By trading up, teams give up more in assets and draft capital in the long run than they get back in short-term gains. The value almost always favors the team trading down, and there are only a handful of positions that give back enough value to consistently trade up for.

Pace has pretty much thrown this ideology to the curb and trades up whenever he pleases. This has led to Pace developing the reputation around the league as an aggressive over-spender come draft day.

Could Teven Jenkins be the next poor draft trade decision for the Bears and Ryan Pace?

With Teven Jenkins having a possible season-ending surgery earlier this week, fans have already expressed their concerns with Jenkins long-term. Honestly, I don’t want to get too far ahead of things. I really liked the Jenkins pick at the time, and I still think it was a good move. Even though it’s easy to compare him to Kevin White or other young players who had their careers derailed by injury, it’s all a little premature.

That being said, this shows the danger of trading up. Not only did the Bears spend a second-round pick on Jenkins, but they also traded away a third-round pick to move up to get Jenkins. That’s a lot of draft capital to use on someone who may not even play this year. Given Pace’s track record with draft-day trades, it’s understandable why people are already nervous about Jenkins. Here’s a list of the Bears recent trades to move up in the draft