Ryan Pace exited the 2015 NFL Draft process with a really good wide receiver. Does it really matter if that player is an undrafted free agent or the seventh overall pick?

I’m not giving up on Kevin White – it is impossible to reach any conclusion on the first rounder – but Cam Meredith’s play last year has me wondering how much White’s health and development will actually play into the Bears plans and how much flak we should give Pace if he missed on the pick.

Meredith was the Bears leading receiver with 66 catches, 888 yards and four touchdowns, but the numbers are more impressive when you add context.

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If you’re expecting Adam Shaheen to be Rob Gronkowski you’re going to be disappointed. But the 2017 second round pick should be able to produce for the Bears as a rookie.

No player has drawn more rave reviews than Shaheen simply because his combination of size and athleticism have been so incredibly difficult for the Bears defenders to match up with. That is an advantage he’s going to maintain throughout the early part of his NFL career.

The reports from beat writers and others is that Shaheen has been borderline dominant and hasn’t dropped a single pass. His teammates have also gone on record as being impressed by the second rounder from Ashland.

Shaheen enters the league with the nickname “Baby Gronk”. That’s not really an accurate comparison — Gronk is significantly faster —  but that label and early camp play have some fans going crazy with their expectations for him. I don’t expect him to be Gronk, but history suggests he has a good chance at being productive early with bigger things on the horizon.

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Promises be damned.

The Bears need to start their best quarterback in 2017.

Early indications are it is not Mike Glennon.

Beat reporters aren’t allowed to report who played well and who didn’t during organized team activities and minicamp practices but they’ve had a hard time hiding the fact that Glennon has struggled. And almost unanimously, they’ve “hinted” Trubisky looks like he belongs. If that continues to be the case, the Bears shouldn’t bother wasting time with Glennon.

Although he has 18 starts under his belt, Glennon isn’t exactly a known commodity. He showed promise as a rookie — at least in terms of being able to protect the ball — but regressed in his second year. The hope was that he improved under the tutelage of Dirk Koetter, but the Bears haven’t seen that yet. They shouldn’t wait.

The biggest knock on Trubisky was a lack of experience. He can’t fix that by sitting on the bench and watching Glennon struggle. Trubisky has the size to hold up to the physicality of the NFL and the ability to play right away. If he’s able to grasp the playbooks and adjust to the speed of the action, there really isn’t a good reason not to throw him in.

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The Bears have been a bad team for most of my life. I have fallen victim to the same spell Cre’Von LeBlanc currently has cast upon so many Bears fans. The “he’s good” spell.

Remember Jeff’s “Joe Anderson Boner”? In that instance, fans exaggerated the okay camp performance of a complete mediocrity. Fans often convince themselves a bad player is good simply because he isn’t literally shitting his pants on the field.

LeBlanc was bad last year. Was he as bad as Bausby or Glenn? No. He wasn’t even as bad as Tracy Porter was during his mailed-in last few games. But, make no mistake, he was still bad!

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Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune

It was insane.

Kevin White missed an OTA practice that wasn’t relevant enough to conclude anything about this Bears squad and both media members and fans started writing him off as a bust.

I agree with WGN’s Adam Hoge that the Bears could’ve helped the situation. John Fox could’ve been clear that White wasn’t injured; that it was just a day off for any reason he wanted to give. Fox’s vague responses can’t be trusted, so he really should’ve said something to ease concern.

But should he have to do that for people to not jump off the deep end?

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As the Chicago Bears go through OTAs this week, much of the focus is on Mike Glennon’s feelings. But the reality of the situation is this: Glennon needs to play well for himself more than the Bears need him to play well.

Right after the Bears traded up for Mitch Trubisky, some of Chicago’s most prominent media members focused on how the team’s presumed starter not being happy could have a negative impact on the Bears 2017 season. The problem with that logic is that it ignores what kind of impact Glennon playing poorly and pouting will have on his own career. Regardless of who else is on the Bears’ roster, this is Glennon’s big audition. He needs to play well and be professional or he’ll never get another chance. He knows this. If he doesn’t, he’ll spend the season on the bench.

The base case scenario for Glennon is that Trubisky is every bit the player the Bears think he is but John Fox chooses to stick with the veteran. Glennon then puts together a productive season and the Bears move him to a contender for a high draft pick.

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There’s beginning to be quite a buzz around Mitch Trubisky.

It’s been almost a month since the draft. The Bears were bashed nationally, with some clowns even calling for Ryan Pace’s job. But more evidence is pouring in and they’ve even played a little football. So far, the early returns are that Trubisky is better than he was sold to be before the Bears made the pick.

It’s often been said that teams never really know what they have in quarterbacks until they get them in their doors. The early returns are promising.

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While they didn’t attack that side of the ball the way many people thought they should in the draft, the Bears defense should still be significantly improved in 2017.

Just last week the Bears made a significant addition to their front seven adding Jaye Howard from Kansas City. Howard is a bull against the run and has shown some ability to rush the passer, finishing with 5.5 sacks in 2015. He missed half of the 2016 season, but passed a physical and appears to be ready to go. Howard will start for the Bears and has the ability to play in their nickel packages, rotating with Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks, representing a significant upgrade over Mitch Unrein.

Howard will also push second-year player Jonathan Bullard. Bullard has the potential to be a stud but was terrible as a rookie. If the Bears — with one of the best defensive line coaches in the league in Jay Rodgers — can develop Bullard, they might have the best front seven in the league.

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“I don’t want to be average around here, I want to be great and these are the moves you have to make.”-Ryan Pace

For the first time in my lifetime, at least the parts I can remember, the Bears have a General Manager who gets it.

They have a GM who doesn’t just want to make the playoffs or compete with the rest of the division.

They have a GM who wants to kick everybody’s ass.

And, for some reason, people are mad about it.

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The NFL’s annual impossible to predict event is upon us and once again I take a shot at trying to predict it:

1. Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, Edge, Texas A&M

Garrett is the consensus first overall pick and I expect the Browns to just pull the trigger and figure out how to grab a quarterback later.

2. (Trade) Jacksonville Jaguars: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

So much talk about the Jaguars trying to find a way to succeed with Blake Bortles. Why? If the conversation is at that point, they should just replace him and I see Tom Coughlin as liking Watson enough to leapfrog the Bears.

3. Chicago Bears: Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina

There are two QBs who are worth a top pick and I think the Bears agree with me. Trubisky has a lot of traits that any QB-needy team would want.

4. San Francisco 49ers: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

People I really respect keep saying the 49ers love Fournette. It doesn’t sound right because Kyle Shannahan’s offense has worked with lesser running backs but they could see Fournette as being the first building block of their offense.

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