With two days before one of the most unique drafts in NFL history, Ryan Pace appeared calm and prepared. He met with the Chicago Bears media in a video conference call to answer questions about the state of the team and possible plans for the draft. He said there are discussions about tight end and cornerback being areas of interest in this class while seemingly dismissing the idea of taking a wide receiver.
Things got a little interesting though when the topic of quarterbacks came up.
The Bears have two 2nd round picks this year. Expectations are there could be a few intriguing names available in that range for this draft. Would he actually consider taking one despite having just traded for Nick Foles? Pace didn't balk at the idea. He made it clear if the QB is clearly the best player on the board, he'd pull the trigger.
Ryan Pace might be lying but then again he might not
Now most people hearing him say that will probably say it's nothing more than classic GM speak. A smokescreen to the real motivations. Pace has said every year he'll consider drafting a quarterback and almost every year he doesn't. So why should people expect him to shift gears now? Especially with the Bears in win-now mode? Mostly because the draft is impossible to predict and it only takes one QB for him to fall in love with.
Rumors swirled back in 2016 that he loved Dak Prescott but John Fox didn't want him. Many have compared Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma to Prescott. Or perhaps the incredible happens and Tua Tagovailoa takes a tumble in the 1st round. Perhaps head coach Matt Nagy will agree with some of the Jordan Love comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. It's important to remember this statement when it comes to the draft.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
All of that said, it's unlikely this happens. There will be higher rating players at other positions in the 2nd round than all of the notable quarterbacks. The odds are much better that Pace will grab somebody in the later rounds that the coaches can develop as a project.
