The Khalil Mack trade may end up being the gift that keeps on giving for the Chicago Bears the way things are going. How so? Well, let’s start with the obvious. Despite his quite previous two games due to an ankle injury, Mack showed how dominant of a pass rusher he is with five sacks in four games. Once he’s back to full strength the odds are that will continue.
Try to imagine if the Bears are able to every put a legitimate rusher opposite him. Leonard Floyd has failed in this regard but if they find somebody worthwhile, this defense is going to be set for years to come. Elite pass rushers like Mack tend to last well into their 30s, so there’s no reason to think his dropoff is right around the corner at age 27.
Yet that’s not the extent of what makes the trade itself so good. There’s another element at play that deserves greater notice. It’s the fact that GM Ryan Pace inexplicably managed to get the Oakland Raiders to send back a 2nd round pick in 2020 to complete the deal. That may not sound like much now, but the way things are going it could prove huge.
State of Raiders is benefitting the Bears end of Khalil Mack trade
There is a touch of irony involved with the Raiders right now. When they made the deal to send Mack to Chicago, their reasoning was simple. They felt the Bears’ recent history gave them the best chance to get high position with the 1st round picks they received from the Bears as compensation. Fast forward to now? The Bears are 4-3 and leading their division.
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On the flip side, it’s Oakland who is crashing and burning in every way imaginable. They hit rock bottom on Thursday Night when the San Francisco 49ers, playing with a third-string backup QB in Nick Mullens making his first career start, hammered them 34-3 in a humiliating rout.
The Raiders are now 1-7 and look like a team that may not win another game. Then there’s the fact they have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL and are likely to see major turnover next season. Head coach Jon Gruden doesn’t seem to have a good grasp on his football team and is trying to sell the fact they can be good again quickly with all the draft picks they’ve acquired thanks to the Mack and Amari Cooper trades.
Except add in the fact this team is getting ready for a move to Las Vegas. Rapid turnarounds tend not to happen with this many issues to work through. The Raiders might be the worst team in football right now and that could easily extend into next season the way things are going.
If that’s true, then the 2nd the Bears got could sit atop the round in 2020, essentially giving them something close to a late 1st. This only makes the Mack trade look that much better and a testament to the job Pace did in executing it.
