Chicago Bears general manager worked his NFL draft magic once again in 2018. From first-round pick Roquan Smith to seventh-rounder Javon Wims, the Bears’ draft class was a big part of the team’s NFC North championship season.
In case you’ve forgotten, here’s Pace’s complete ’18 draft haul:
Round 1: Roquan Smith | LB | Georgia
Round 2: James Daniels | G | Iowa
Round 2: Anthony Miller | WR | Memphis
Round 4: Joel Iyiegbuniwe | LB | Western Kentucky
Round 5: Bilal Nichols | DL | Delaware
Round 6: Kylie Fitts | LB | Utah
Round 7: Javon Wims | WR | Georgia
That’s a good group. So good, in fact, they were awarded an A- by NFL.com for their performance last season.
Few clubs reaped a better haul from the first two rounds of the 2018 draft than Chicago. After sweating out a testy and lengthy holdout with Smith over some restrictive contract language, the two sides made up and wreaked havoc on the NFC. Smith completed a nasty linebacking corps featuring Danny Trevathan and edge rushers Khalil Mack and Leonard Floyd, leading the team in tackles (121) and making himself an obvious PFWA All-Rookie honoree.
The 2019 NFL draft won’t have quite the returns. Pace traded Chicago’s first-round pick for Khalil Mack last September and dealt the team’s second-round pick to move up for Miller in last year’s draft. It’s highly unlikely the Bears will get another starter out of this class, although the running back group is ripe for the picking.
Regardless, last year’s draft class represents a big part of the young foundation of the suddenly winning Bears.
