Nothing offers better indication of just how adept or inept a general manager is than when he’s given the most valuable draft currency there is. A top five pick. Many over the years have built their legacies around just one such selection. Others, as it turns out, have seen their dreams flushed down the toilet if they end up whiffing on it.
There is no greater warning sign to an ownership or a fan base than a GM who can’t get a top five selection right. It should be the easiest thing there is to do, yet somehow every year guys manage to screw it up. Here is a rundown of what Pace is up against should he fumble this opportunity with the #3 selection this April.
Below is a list of GMs who all screwed up their first top five selections and how long it took afterwards for them to get fired.
Tom Heckert (Cleveland Browns)
- Pick: RB Trent Richardson at #3 in 2012
- Fired in 2013
Gene Smith (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Pick: WR Justin Blackmon at #5 in 2012
- Fired in 2013
Bill DeVaney (St. Louis Rams)
- Pick: OT Jason Smith at #2 in 2009
- Fired in 2012
Bruce Allen (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Pick: DE Gaines Adams at #4 in 2007
- Fired in 2008
Tim Ruskell (Seattle Seahawks)
- Pick: LB Aaron Curry at #4 in 2009
- Fired in 2010
Tom Donahoe (Buffalo Bills)
- Pick: OT Mike Williams at #4 in 2002
- Fired in 2006
Almost to a man these guys were sent packing the year after they made those picks. It became apparent they were busts that fast. The exceptions were DeVaney and Donahoe. DeVaney had extra time because it was his first year in charge and they also drafted Sam Bradford #1 the next year. Donahoe was fortunate his team went 8-8 his first year. Still, he never emerged from under the cloud of that miss on Williams.
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Pace has no such protection. This is his third year in charge and his team is coming off a 3-13 season. After going 6-10 the year before. Bears ownership have said they love the work he’s done so far, but opinions change fast. His first two top picks are a mixed bag. They’re outstanding when on the field, but neither Kevin White nor Leonard Floyd have proven they can stay healthy.
Pace himself said he has to get an “impact” guy when getting the chance to hold a top five pick. That’s no joke. The 1985 Bears were built around two “impact” top five choices in Walter Payton and Dan Hampton. That is the challenge in front of this 38-year old GM. If he screws it up, his job will no longer be safe.
