With the 2020 NFL Draft upon us, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace will be bringing in a new crop of talent that he hopes will have a positive impact on this roster moving forward.
When you examine Pace’s draft history, it’s filled with some studs and some duds. Unfortunately, here, we’re going to be looking at the busts that Pace has drafted in his five years as Bears GM.
Let’s take a look at Pace’s five worst draft picks, which includes three failed first-round selections.
5. OL Hroniss Grasu (Round 3, 2015)
When the Bears drafted Hroniss Grasu, they were hoping that he’d become an anchor of their offense line for the future. That wasn’t the case for Grasu, who struggled
Due to injury on Chicago’s offensive line, Grasu started eight games in his rookie season, where he struggled against some of the competition. He was primed to compete for the starting center position before suffering a season-ending knee injury in training camp. While Grasu had lost his starting role to rookie center Cody Whitehair and left guard Josh Sitton, he got another chance once again due to injuries on the offensive line. In 2017, Grasu appeared in six games — including four starts — before being let go ahead of the 2018 season.
As is the case for two other players on this list, injuries were a factor in Grasu’s downfall. That, and the fact that his uninspiring play didn’t exactly warrant a second contract.
4. OLB Leonard Floyd (Round 1, 2016)
Leonard Floyd has easily been the most productive player on this list. But given his first-round billing — and the fact that the Bears traded up to grab him ninth overall in 2016 — Floyd didn’t live up to expectations.
Injuries were a struggle for Floyd in his four years with the Bears. He missed four games in his first two seasons, but in 2017, Floyd suffered a torn MCL and missed the final six games. After Floyd had recovered from that injury, in 2018, he suffered a broken hand in the preseason, but he was ready for Week 1.
Ultimately, a pass rusher is judged by how he gets after the quarterback, and Floyd struggled doing just that. While Floyd showed potential in his rookie season, notching seven sacks in 12 games, his sack total has declined every year since he entered the league in 2016. In 2019, Floyd managed a career-low three sacks during a season in which he played in every game. That, lining up opposite stud edge rusher Khalil Mack.
While Floyd was solid in run support and in coverage, he couldn’t take advantage of the one-on-one opportunities getting after the quarterback opposite Mack. And with his $13.2 million contract looming, Pace couldn’t justify the high price tag.
So the Bears brought in his replacement in Robert Quinn and showed Floyd the door. Floyd signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Rams, where he can make as much as $13 million.
3. TE Adam Shaheen (Round 2, 2017)
Aside from quarterback or kicker, has there been a position that’s snakebitten Pace more than tight end? One of Pace’s most frustrating picks has been tight end Adam Shaheen, who from the start was a project but never one that worked out. “Baby Gronk” has never come close.
Shaheen’s inability to stay on the field has limited that progress. Shaheen hasn’t played a full season since entering the league. His healthiest season came in 2017, where he missed the final three games due to a chest injury. In 2018, Shaheen suffered a foot/ankle injury during the preseason, which caused him to miss 10 games that season. Most recently, Shaheen was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury in 2019.
In three seasons, Shaheen has just 26 catches for 249 yards and four touchdowns in 27 games. Not exactly the kind of production that Pace was expecting when he drafted Shaheen in the second round out of Division-II Ashland.
Heading into his fourth season, Shaheen will have to battle for a roster spot in training camp. And with nine — possibly 10, after the 2020 NFL Draft — tight ends competing for roster spots, Shaheen is going to need to stay healthy if he has any chance of making the cut.
2. QB Mitchell Trubisky (Round 1, 2017)
Bears fans will hear about how Pace epically failed with the selection of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky over MVP Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson for the duration of these three quarterbacks’ careers. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. Pace failed at the most important position in sports — and he did so with two studs still on the board.
Trubisky’s rookie season was unremarkable under John Fox, but the expectation with the arrival of Matt Nagy was that Trubisky would take his game to the next level. While 2018 showed glimpses of that — Trubisky had a six-touchdown outing, made the Pro Bowl and nearly orchestrated an impressive game-winning drive in a wild card playoff game against the Eagles — last season was a reminder of the inconsistencies that have plagued him in three seasons in Chicago.
Trubisky has flashed potential in these first three seasons, but potential only goes so far. The Bears drafted Trubisky to be able to lift the players around him — which he wasn’t able to do in 2019. Although, to be fair, outside of receiver Allen Robinson, the rest of the offense was mediocre at best or abysmal at worst. While Trubisky still has a chance to prove everyone wrong, entering his fourth and final season with the Bears, he currently stands as a bust waiting to be crowned.
The only reason Trubisky isn’t No. 1 on this list is because there’s still (at least) one year left of the Trubisky Experiment. This time next year — if Trubisky is gone — he’ll own the top spot.
1. WR Kevin White (Round 1, 2015)
For all of the expectations that came with the selection of receiver Kevin White — Pace’s first draft selection as Bears GM — it was the “what ifs” that continue to haunt Bears fans thoughts.
It was an ominous start for White, who missed his entire rookie season with a shin injury. White saw his most success in 2016, where he had 19 catches for 187 yards in just four games before, what else, suffering an injury that landed him on injured reserve in early October. White didn’t even make it beyond the first game of the 2017 season, where he was placed on injured reserve following the first game of the year.
Injuries were always White’s Achille’s Heel, and by the time he was able to stay healthy for an entire season, he had already been supplanted by the likes of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel. Anthony Miller and Josh Bellamy.
In four years with the Bears, White had 25 catches for 285 yards over 14 games. Not exactly worth of the seventh overall selection. And White’s disappointment was the beginning of a long line of failed first-round picks by Pace, including the two on this list.
