When Ryan Pace laid out his plans for the 2020 offseason back in January, he did so with expectations that it would go like any normal offseason would. There was no way he could’ve known just how drastically COVID-19 would torch the NFL landscape. Adjusting to it has remained the biggest challenge for he, the front office, the scouts, and the coaching staff.

One of the biggest things with any offseason is player evaluation. Teams have to find ones they like, bring them in, and then decide whether they have a future in Chicago. People often take this process for granted because it uses every second from the start of the year through the beginning of the regular season. Now though that process was all but burned to the ground by the virus.

According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, Pace and others Bears brass have grown nervous in recent weeks as this reality has set in. They’re about to enter a critical point in evaluations with practically none of their usual tools to do so. Minicamps? Cut. OTAs? Cut. Preseason? Cut. This will make it incredibly difficult to get a solid read on their roster, especially the rookies.

“Your concern always, in every camp, is letting a good player walk out of here,” Pace said. “It goes back to taking every piece of information you can to complete the evaluation and leaning on your staff—and not just your coaches and your scouts but your support staff to complete the picture. Because, yeah, you are nervous a good player is going to walk out of here. You always are, but to be honest, you probably feel it more this year because we’ll have less time with these guys, and we won’t have the preseason games.”

Ryan Pace knows his draft in particular offers big hurdles

One of the things that makes this tough on the Bears is the nature of their draft class. Of the seven picks Pace made back in April, only two of them came in the first four rounds. Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson are locks to make the roster befitting their obvious talent. However, the remaining five players are all 5th round picks or later. That doesn’t automatically hand them spots. Not in these unprecedented times.

Now given the fact the Bears traded up for guys like Trevis Gipson and Darnell Mooney, it’s a safe bet they will make the team. Still, with only training camp practices to go on, crazy things can happen. Neither of their 7th round choices in Arlington Hambright and Lachavious Simmons are safe. It’s quite possible none of their undrafted free agents will make it either. The lack of valuable film could lead to coaches airing on the side of caution, going with veteran players more often than normal.

Hence why Pace and others are stressed, knowing there’s a definite risk they might let somebody go they shouldn’t have.