Super Bowl 51 is dominating media coverage and one particular subject everybody is talking about shines a bad spotlight on Chicago's general manager Ryan Pace.
After enduring a 3-13 season with no quarterback solution in sight, Bears fans have a lot of questions about the future of their team. Pace, the youngest general manager in the league, is the man in charge of leading the Bears into what is expected to be their most important off-season of recent memory.
With two seasons under his belt, Pace has some great accomplishments that are seemingly leveled out by other glaring mistakes. Prized picks Jordan Howard and Cody Whitehair are clear wins, however signing Ray McDonald, Antrel Rolle and drafting Kevin White still remain black eyes on his Chicago resume. Most have forgotten about McDonald and Rolle considering their short time with the team, but nobody has stopped talking about White.
With less than 20 total receptions in two years, while appearing in only four games, White has been decimated with injury. He flashed potential during the short time he did get to play, but after fracturing his left fibula, and having surgery on his left tibia, White's future remains uncertain.
Somebody's future who is quite clear was picked right after White and he's the reason nobody can forget about Pace's mistake.
The NFL's leader in sacks for the 2016 season is expected to wreak havoc on Tom Brady in Super Bowl 51. Vic Beasley was selected eighth overall, right after Kevin White, in the 2015 draft. Beasley, if you remember, was closely tied to Chicago because everyone expected White to be part of the first seven picks.
Everything changed when the Washington Redskins selected Brandon Scherff with the fifth overall pick, nobody saw that coming. Therefore, all the hype leading up to that draft paired the Bears with the 24 year-old beast from Clemson.
From NFL.com:
"He can definitely step in and be that guy" for the Chicago Bears, Curtis Conway said. Conway also said Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would be a good teacher for Beasley, noting what Fangio did for Aldon Smith when Smith was a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers.
From ESPN:
"Beasley's background suggests he has the potential to be a high-impact player at the NFL level. Unless the Bears have ruled him out for reasons unknown, Beasley likely receives a strong look at No. 7 if he remains on the board when Chicago goes on the clock."
From NBC:
"Beasley is enough of a game-breaker and potential future star that the team would be well-advised to take him. He has the talent to be an elite player in the NFL, and if he can bulk up a bit and become more reliable against the run, he would be an excellent addition by Ryan Pace and John Fox."
All that, and Pace selected White. You can't really blame him for taking White considering, as we said, he was expected to already be gone. But, when you look back the injuries White has now sustained, it makes you wonder if Washington, and all the other teams with selections before the Bears in that draft, knew something that Pace didn't. Doctors and other medical analysts have already indicated that White's injuries appear to be "bad luck" with the first one being caused by "over training."
Here's some food for thought.... The Bears selected White on April 30, 2015. They learned of his injury, according to the Chicago Tribune, in June and he immediately went in for surgery to have a rod inserted into his leg. Did he really "over train" in that 30+ day period after being selected by the Bears and fracture his leg, or was he over training for the entire process leading up to the combine that brought a sense of doubt for the other teams in the top seven that year? The world may never know.
Something we do know is Beasley is an absolute animal and that miss forced Pace to use his first-round pick the next season on another pass rusher, Leonard Floyd. Taken ninth overall, Floyd suffered two concussions his rookie season and that overshadowed his performance on the field (seven sacks in just 12 games).
To rub some salt in the wounds for Chicago fans, they're watching Martellus Bennett and Shea McClellin thrive with their new team after failing to do the same with the Bears. The cherry on top.... Phil Emery. The former GM for the Bears that selected McClellin with his first draft pick is also in the Super Bowl as a "vital" scout for the Falcons.
With the third overall pick in the 2017 draft, Pace will have his third shot at a first-round pick and this time it's the team's highest since 1972. The pick, whoever it is, will face an enormous amount of pressure to make an impact immediately and STAY HEALTHY.
Pace is also going to have to fix the quarterback position.
Previously referred to as the "best kept secret" in the NFL during his time with New Orleans, Pace has some critical decisions to make. The last thing he wants to do is spend another year being reminded that the guy he passed on with a top 10 pick helped lead his team to the Super Bowl in just two years.
Get well soon Kevin White.
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