Chicago Bears' GM Ryan Pace is an "on the rise executive"

Where would you rank Chicago Bears' general manager Ryan Pace among his peers?

He's only been on the job since since January of 2015, but he's been very active in turning Chicago's front office, coaching staff and roster, into one he specifically wants. The Bears only had a one game improvement over the 2014 season, but the team seems to be heading in the right direction, but more importantly, there seems to be an actual plan in place to get the team to respectability.

In 16 months Pace has made some popular decisions, but he's also made decisions that left some of the fan-base scratching their heads. Trading away productive veterans Brandon Marshall and Martellus Bennett angered a few. Allowing Matt Forte to leave via free agency confused some fans, but appeasing a fan-base isn't in his job description. Pace made moves that he felt would improve his team. Time will tell if he made the right moves, and some decisions are simply judgement calls that may never show a clear won/loss, but he's doing things his way.

So far so good in my opinion.

Rotoworld recently ranked NFL GMs in their annual list and they had Ryan Pace at number 20, interestingly one spot behind Mickey Loomis, his former boss with the New Orleans Saints.

Here's how Rotoworld sees it.

Ryan Pace didn't inherit the Bears' 53-man roster. He inherited the sinkhole where the Bears' 53-man roster used to be. Left to decay under Jerry Angelo, the Bears' once fearsome assemblage of players hit rock bottom under experimental GM Phil Emery, whose parting gift to Pace was an untradeable $126 million contract for then 31-year-old quarterback Jay Cutler. With vanishingly-little talent on defense and an aging core on offense, Pace had a clear objective for his first year on the job: Stabilization. He did just that, hiring steady hand John Fox as coach, and aside from signing on-the-rise pass rusher Pernell McPhee, sitting on his hands in free agency.

The Bears only gained one game in the win/loss column, but were much more respectable, avoiding the embarrassing blowout losses that marred their 2014 season. Pace has stayed the course this offseason, releasing failed LT Jermon Bushrod while allowing an aging Matt Forte to walk in free agency. Building block WR Alshon Jeffery has been retained and veteran talent -€” Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman and Akiem Hicks -€” added on defense. Pace could improve on his quiet rookie draft, but has done nothing to dent his status as an on-the-rise executive. Now all he has to do is keep the same upward trajectory for his team.

I thought his initial rookie haul was respectable and if Kevin White can become the player they envision him to be, his first draft could be a home run.

What are your thoughts on Pace coming in at 20 in Rotoworld's rankings?