(670 The Score) There's not much local buzz to be had as the NFL Scouting Combine convenes in Indianapolis this week, not with the Bears' 2019 draft capital already mostly spent on no less a prize than star edge rusher Khalil Mack proved to be.
The Bears have picks in rounds three, four and five and two more in the seventh. General manager Ryan Pace would appear to be value shopping, understanding well that the commitment was made to this roster of young players in this window of contention. The Mack move last September was a double-down on the expensive (and possibly unnecessary) jump up to snag quarterback Mitchell Trubisky two years ago, and their slim pickings now are evidence of finite resources allotted per an accelerated and increasingly optimistic timetable.
But what if the Bears see something they really like?
It's not like the college scouting staff isn't still doing all the work to set up their board and assign appropriate value to another large field of players, even if they're focused on the second day's crop. It can't be completely off the table for them to recognize an opportunity as names start to get called, noticing a valuation differential that could scream at them for another move up or dive back in by mortgaging further into the future.
And that actually would make perfect sense for a general manager locked into the present and the very near future. Pace already picked the NFL Coach of the Year in Matt Nagy, made a hire at defensive coordinator that was well-received around the league in Chuck Pagano and knows opportunities for this kind of relevance can be fleeting due to the variance of injuries and the nature of the NFL to have teams regress to the middle from either direction. So Pace could get creative if he's tempted by something new and exciting and fast.
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It's one thing to reconcile the Trubisky and Mack deals and have made them planning to sit this one out, but it's another to actually do it. These guys are impatient generally, always tantalized by the promise of the next player as a good fit or a final piece, and that urgency might be heightened in win-now mode.
On one hand, it could be argued that Pace's ability to find Pro Bowl players like safety Eddie Jackson and running back Tarik Cohen in the fourth round should mean he can be trusted to do it again, but on the other is the fact that no future is promised even when everything seems to be moving in the right direction.
It wouldn't be the biggest surprise if a general manager with a proven appetite for risk takes on even more. Pace made a very public show of declaring himself "all in" with the quarterback and stayed there with a trade for an impact defender that rocked the league right before last season began. Pace's position at this metaphorical poker table hasn't changed, and all he'd need to do is borrow from future assets to keep betting on himself.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's Bernstein & McKnight Show in middays. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein.
