April 29--Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace knew he was about to be bombarded with questions about his team's vision and intentions for this week's NFL draft. So as he stepped onto a riser outside Halas Hall on Wednesday, he made an offer to the gathered media.
"This might be easier if we just went up to the draft room right now and opened the board," Pace said.
There were plenty of takers on that proposal. Of course, even as a rookie GM, Pace knows better. So the draft room remained off limits to outsiders Wednesday. And on the eve of the draft, Pace was left to talk as generally as he could about an event that will help shape the Bears' future.
Just to end all suspense, the Bears GM said he was excited to own the No. 7 overall pick, sitting on a golden opportunity to add a big-time player to the roster. But Pace also made it clear the phone lines were open with hypotheticals already being discussed on what would convince the Bears to trade out of the No. 7 slot on Thursday night. The possibilities of moving both up or back are still in play.
After a 15-minute session with reporters, here are the highlights of what Pace had to say.
On whether he'll sleep well Wednesday night:
"This will be my first night before the draft as a general manager. So I'll have to answer that question later. I sleep pretty well (normally). The hay's in the barn. We've gone through every scenario. We got our board stacked correctly. I'm going to sleep well."
On how to evaluate positions that are significantly in the draft, measuring the value of waiting versus taking a player in the top-tier at that position:
"I think it just depends on how impactful you feel those guys are at the top. An impactful player is an impactful player, no matter what the depth (of the position) is in the draft. If you feel he's an impact player, hey, I think you go and get that guy, regardless of the depth."
On how players with arrests late in the pre-draft process have their draft stock impacted:
"The evaluation process of their character goes all the way up until the draft starts, really. ... One thing that really stands out to me with our scouts here is the detail and the thoroughness they've done with their character (evaluations). These guys have gone far back. So I feel strong. Obviously it all carries weight. There's a risk/reward when you're talking about medical decisions or character decisions. That affects our draft board. It definitely does. But I'm really proud of the character and the background our scouts have done for this draft."
On what's available at No. 7:
"If we stay at seven, there are seven players we've identified that we feel really, really good about. I know there's going to be a player that we can select that's going to be there that we feel really good about, that we're excited about. But hey, if the right opportunity is there for us to go back a little bit, we kind of have established clouds at different points in the draft to know that if we go back to this point, this is the group of players we're (now) talking about. If we go back to this (other) point, this is the group of players we're talking about. So all those scenarios and discussions have been going on at this point."
On weighing considerations to trade down:
"The value for the trade back has got to be there. Some guys throw out some crazy scenarios where you say, 'That makes no sense.' But if we have an opportunity to go back and we feel we can still get an impact player, everybody's trying to acquire more picks. We have a lot of needs and only six picks, so if we have an opportunity to acquire more picks and still feel like we can feel good about the player we can select, we'll definitely consider that."
On whether he sees Alshon Jeffery as a No. 1 receiver and how that impacts his assessment of this year's deep draft class at receiver:
"Alshon is a great player. But that's a position I feel like you can always add to. Having more weapons is better. Impact players on offense or defense, they're available at different points in the draft. This is a deep receiver class. But, hey, to pair guys up with Alshon, that wouldn't be a bad thing."
On the importance of length at edge rusher:
"I would say, philosophically, for the most part, length is important. Now some guys are able to get away with it, like the (Dwight) Freeneys of the world or the Robert Mathises. Because they've got such great get-off and edge quickness and ability to bend. But for the most part, length is important. I think we talked about that with Pernell McPhee, (signed in March). I think his length really helps him as a pass rusher."
On picking in the top 10:
"When you're picking in the top 10, you're hoping and you're confident that you're going to get an impact player that's going to get this franchise rolling. When I think about it, you look back at any successful Super Bowl team, and there's a draft that took place that kind of set the foundation for that team. I don't want to talk about New Orleans too much, but I think the 2006 draft propelled them to the 2009 Super Bowl. So that's your goal going into this, that this draft here sets us up for a lot of success to come."
On off-field concerns with players:
"When you look at character, there's a couple things. There's football character. Like, how is he as a teammate? Is he passionate about the game? Does he really love this? Because that's what's hard to figure out -- what's in their hearts. Do they really love football? And then you also have the off-the-field stuff, because he's representing your organization, the McCaskeys, the city of Chicago. So those weigh on your shoulders heavily. And that's really analyzed thoroughly."
On how much was accomplished in free agency to set things up for the draft:
"We have a lot of needs, so to sit here and say we addressed every single position on the roster in free agency, I wish I could say that. There are still needs on our depth chart. But you've got to be disciplined with taking the best player available and we'll continue to do that."
