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Chicago Bears: Stop the ‘Fire Ryan Pace’ talk already

By Carlos Nazario

CHICAGO, IL- JANUARY 19: Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace introduces new head coach John Fox on January 19, 2015 at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL- JANUARY 19: Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace introduces new head coach John Fox on January 19, 2015 at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Bears wide receiver
CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 30: Kevin White of the West Virginia Mountaineers holds up a jersey after being chosen #7 overall by the Chicago Bears during the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 30, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

2015 Draft Class

  • Round 1: Kevin White, West Virginia
  • Round 2: Eddie Goldman, Florida State
  • Round 3: Hroniss Grasu, Oregon
  • Round 4: Jeremy Langford, Michigan State
  • Round 5: Adrian Amos, Penn State
  • Round 6: Tayo Fabuluje, TCU

The lightning rod of criticism in this class is Kevin White. He played in only five games in his career. The Bears depended on him to be a No. 1 on the wide receivers corps this season, but he went down for the season in Week 1. He missed the entire 2015 season and 12 games in 2016.

With the wide receivers struggling this season, people throw a lot of criticism at Pace for that pick. Okay, it didn’t work out. However, Eddie Goldman is a starter and has done a pretty good job clogging up the middle. Taking double teams frees up Akiem Hicks (a free agent signing) to move freely and play well throughout his time in Chicago.

Hroniss Grasu showed flashes of being pretty good, but injuries also stunted his progression. He was rarely used in his rookie season (played in only eight games) and missed the entire 2016 season because of injury. He played pretty well at times this season, but got injured again, playing in only five games.

Jeremy Langford rushed for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns in 28 games with the Bears. He also added 421 yards and scored one touchdown receiving. The Bears found a couple of special players in the draft, though, and he became expendable.

Adrian Amos became a staple in the defense. He stepped right up and became a regular at safety. His playing time went down when the Bears signed Quintin Demps, but after Demps’ injury, Amos got back in and has played well ever since.

Tayo Fabuluje was a project from the start. He got drafted because of his size (he came in at 6-7 and almost 400 pounds before he got down to 355). The project didn’t work out, but getting drafted in the 6th round it didn’t cost the Bears much.

So in this draft, the Bears got two starters on defense and a rotational player on the offensive line. Not spectacular (though good in getting two starters), but also not too bad for Pace’s first draft.

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