One of the most persistent questions Chicago Bears fans have had going into the NFL draft this year has to do with trades. Will GM Ryan Pace do any? He's done it at least once every year except his first in 2015. Could he convince himself to move up against for a difference-maker or might he play it safe and move down trying to acquire more picks. Remember the Bears have none in the 3rd or 4th rounds.
It makes perfect sense. The problem is some are concerned about the state of this 2020 draft. A big reason is the massive shakeup to the entire process due to the coronavirus. This has forced teams to embrace and entirely virtual communication process both with their own people and other teams. This created speculation that there might not be as much trading this year.
Pace though made it seem like he no longer has any such reservations to Chicagobears.com.
"When we first heard how we were going to do it, you'd start thinking, 'Well, maybe there will be fewer trades,'" Pace said. "But the more comfortable we've got with the technology—the NFL has done a great job rolling everything out for us—right now going into it as a staff there's no difference for us.
"We feel really comfortable with our setup and the technology we have. I don't feel like there's going to be a difference. I'm sure there's a little anxiety for everybody just because it's different. But I feel like everybody's embraced it and just quickly adapted. That's what's been cool to see, and it's leaguewide, just how fast everybody's adapted and embraced the current situation."
Ryan Pace loves moving in the 2nd round
What makes this so interesting is context. Pace has always loved to move around in the 2nd round of the draft. He traded back twice in 2016 before selecting Cody Whitehair. A year later he traded back before grabbing Adam Shaheen. Then in 2019, he jumped all the way up from the 4th round to grab Anthony Miller. So it's not a stretch in the slightest that he might be thinking about a move with either the #43 or #50 picks.
As always, it comes down to which teams might be interested in moving up. It takes two teams to get a deal done. There are plenty picking later in the round that the Bears have conducted business with in the past. The Rams, the Seahawks, and the Eagles being among the most prominent. None of those teams are shy about moving around the board. It wouldn't be a surprise if Pace placed his first phone calls to them if and when the time came.
