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Who are the Ryan Pace 7?

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
David Banks/Getty Images

The Chicago Bears are currently slotted into the 7th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Bears' general manager Ryan Pace has fielded calls from teams in front of them and from teams behind them looking to maneuver up and down the 1st round. He doesn't rule out a trade up, but it does seem doubtful.

I think there's a good chance the Bears trade back, but that will depend which players are on the board when pick number 7 rolls around. Are speaking of 7, here's what pace had to say about the Bears staying there.

The only player I feel fairly 100% confident that will be gone is Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. I think Florida DE/OLB Dante Fowler Jr. is an obvious pick for the Jaguars at 3 or the Redskins at 5, so I assume he'll be gone. I also think somehow Oregon QB Marcus Mariota will go 2nd overall, whether to the Titans or to a team trading up for his services. If one of these three fall to the Bears, I think they would be ready to pounce, but odds are slim.

The other top prospects I believe have a chance to make it to the Bears at 7. If I had to guess on Ryan Pace's 7 I'd guess this way.

  1. Leonard Williams, DL, USC
  2. Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson
  3. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
  4. Kevin White, West Virginia
  5. Danny Shelton, NT, Washington
  6. Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan Stete
  7. Alvin "Bud" Dupree, OLB, Kentucky

I was really struggling to add an offensive lineman to that 7, but I'm just not sure which one Pace would covet. I really like Iowa's Brandon Scherff, but Pace may favor Stanford's Andrus Peat.

Depending on how many of Pace's 7 are available when he goes on the clock, that will give him some flexibility in a potential trade down.

Of those 7 I listed, I feel the safest players (highest floor) are Williams, Cooper and Shelton. You could probably add Scherff to my list of safe players.

Now that you've seen the seven that I feel Pace is prepared to draft, let us know which seven players you think he likes.

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