The draft-day deal between the Bears and 49ers will likely be dissected for quite some time. And no matter which way you slice it, the deal was an extremely intriguing one from both ends of the spectrum.
Check out the perspective from San Francisco GM John Lynch from his interview with Rich Eisen:
It was interesting to hear Lynch confirm (without naming names) there were other teams interested in trading up to the second pick. But my ears perked up at this moment: “A lot of people think I’m trying to cover for Ryan Pace but I really applaud him for his aggressiveness that kept it completely quiet.”
One way Pace kept his plans covert was by waiting until about 1-1/2 weeks until the draft to open up a dialogue between he and Lynch. But there was no way that would have stayed under wraps unless Lynch kept the conversations to himself. The lead up to the NFL Draft was full of rumors and whimsy, yet, nothing regarding the Bears trading up … and definitely not much with regards to the Bears taking a quarterback as early as they did.
In a draft that featured many rarities, the silence surrounding the Bears might take the cake.
With the trade in the books, the analysis of it has just begun. Over at CSN Chicago, John Mullin writes a by-the-numbers breakdown of how the Bears won the trade. It’s an interesting anecdote that cites the draft-value trade chart that puts a point value on picks in an attempt to put a number on something that traditionally doesn’t come with one. And even by that standard, it’s still difficult to put into words that the Bears won the trade because none of the players involved have played a snap. In reality, we might not know the true outcome of this deal until 2020 or so. It’s simply far too early to make that kind of declaration, even if some raw, early numbers suggest otherwise.
As far as I’m concerned, the only “win” in this trade (from a Bears perspective) is that they didn’t send a second first-round pick to San Francisco. Three teams traded up in the draft to take quarterbacks, but the Bears were the only team that didn’t sacrifice a second first-round pick to do so.
While the deal has been widely panned, long time Green Bay Packers executive Ron Wolf lauds Ryan Pace’s gumption in making the deal. Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times catches up with Wolf, a front office mastermind who built the foundation of the modern Packers dynasty. Wolf knows a thing or two about taking risks on quarterbacks, trading a first-round selection to the Atlanta Falcons in 1992 for quarterback Brett Favre in a move that set the wheels of progress in motion for Green Bay. Potash has other notes and perspective beyond getting Wolf’s thoughts on the Bears’ blockbuster trade. So check it out.
Ryan Pace’s buzzword over the weekend was “conviction” as he described how he felt when making the trade to pick his quarterback of the future. Over at CBS Chicago, Chris Emma writes about how Pace showed some conviction in himself as the Bears’ draft weekend added up into the Bears’ GM showing he was willing to make a bet on himself with the bold and risky moves and picks he made in the draft.
Christian McCaffery and the Bears? Apparently, it was on the table:
John Mullin of CSN Chicago offers up the idea that “double-booking” draft picks is not a suitable or workable solution for a Bears team with as many holes as it has on its roster. Mullin finds draft picks of Trubisky (with Mike Glennon already in the fold) and Leonard Floyd (with Pernell McPhee already on the roster) as logical, but takes issue with other selections. For example: the drafting of tight end Adam Shaheen weeks after the team committed $6 million in guarantees to free agent Dion Sims. Eddie Jackson comes in as a questionable pick after the signing of free agent Quintin Demps and starting the move of Deiondre’ Hall from cornerback to safety. Same can be said about choosing Tarik Cohen, which marked the fourth straight year in which the Bears have drafted a running back – with the last three being chosen by Pace.
Through this lens, Mullin brings up some strong and valid points. “Best player available” argument aside, the Bears didn’t target the kind of playmakers the team lacked in 2016 with this draft – outside of Trubisky, who ideally won’t get a chance to prove himself until 2018. Chicago had only eight interceptions and 11 turnovers last season, but only drafted one defensive player. The passing offense struggled on the outside, but didn’t choose any wide receivers. There were 18 rushing touchdowns allowed by the Bears defense in 2016, but the Bears didn’t add anyone to the front seven. Beyond Trubisky, this draft will be judged on whether or not the picks reach their ceiling, because the floors aren’t all that high.
The Pentagon rescinded a 2016 policy that allowed college athletes at service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) to go straight to the pros after graduation. Instead, service academy graduates must serve two years – a move that made an impact on the 2017 draft.
The NFL Network’s has started its initial rollout of the league’s top 100 active players, and no Bears were listed in the first group covering players ranked between 81 and 100. The Packers have two.
At least the Senior Bowl turned out to be something of value for some organizations:
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