Meet The Real Culprit Behind The Chicago Bears' Week 1 Dud

The Chicago Bears once again looked utterly outmatched by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. It was an all-too-familiar feeling for fans. Frustration and anger was palpable. Jobs are already being called for. Rumors persist that coaches are feeling the heat after such a poor showing. The question permeating everywhere was how the team could still look that bad even after all the work they did in the off-season. In truth, hindsight says it shouldn't have been a surprise. This was a cold dose of reality of how far away the Bears' roster remains from being ready for contention.

Most will point to GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus when searching for somebody to blame for that. They run the ship now and are now 3-15 since taking over. However, people must acknowledge one uncomfortable truth. They're still cleaning up the mess left behind by Ryan Pace. Fans still don't grasp how badly the former GM mismanaged this roster. Here is a look at every 1st round pick he handled during his stint with the organization.

• 2015 - Kevin White - Out of the league
• 2016 - Leonard Floyd - Not on the team
• 2017 - Mitch Trubisky - Not on the team
• 2018 - Roquan Smith - Not on the team
• 2019 - Lost to Khalil Mack trade
• 2020 - Lost to Khalil Mack trade
• 2021 - Justin Fields - Still on the team
• 2022 - Lost to Justin Fields trade

Think about this. Only one of the eight 1st round picks Pace controlled since taking over in 2015 is still on the roster. The rest were traded, cut, or left as free agents.

The Chicago Bears have finally started adding 1st rounders again.

Darnell Wright represents only the second 1st round pick they've added in the past five years. It is hard to build a winning team when you're so frivolous with valuable resources like that. Then you look at the Packers roster they faced on Sunday. They had nine 1st round picks in uniform. All of them are under the age of 30. This was a clear example of why Pace's reckless style of roster-building was always a mistake. His willingness to constantly trade away 1st rounders for aggressive moves was bound to bite this team in the long run.

Now, the Chicago Bears are feeling that pain. Poles is still trying to clean up that mess. He's made 20 draft picks in the past two years, scouring the landscape for young talent wherever he can find it. He seems to have finally set them up for a significant infusion of talent next year with two 1st round picks. Wright looks like he has a bright future ahead of him. People always talk about why the teams of the 1980s were so great. It's because the team did an excellent job of stacking quality 1st round picks.

They're finally trying to get back to that. Unfortunately, the process to get there might be painful.