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After the Chicago Bears moved up for a quarterback Justin Fields on Thursday, I assumed they’d stand pat or trade back to recoup some picks on Friday, but not Ryan Pace. His conviction in their board holds true and moved up for Teven Jenkins last night.
Pace met with the media late on both evenings, so we wanted to make sure you guys didn’t miss any of his thought on his two newest players. You can check out what he had to say about Fields here, and read on for his thoughts on Jenkins.
On Teven Jenkins
Pace again aggressively went up and got their guy, and in Jenkins they have a guy that should be an immediate starter at right tackle, which made the trade worth it for the Bears.
“Especially for that position and who he was,” Pace said. “Once it got in that area and we were able to do that — basically flip a three and a five and one of our four sixes — for us, it was worth it to get a guy we had graded that high with all those traits at that position. We were all pretty fired up about it.”
Jenkins had a lot of first-round buzz around him, with most analysts believing he’d be the perfect pick had the Bears remained at 20 overall. So by Pace not only getting his QB, but a plug-and-play tackle as well, those same analysts were all praising the Bears early draft moves.
“We had first-round grades on (Jenkins),” Pace said. “That’s why, second round, especially that position, that player, we wanted to make sure we got him.” Pace said he was the best player on their board at the time.
While right tackle is his likely position as a rookie, he has some experience at left tackle, experience at guard, and he even began teaching himself how to snap.
“He’s got the athletic ability to get to the second level and block in space,” Pace said. “In pass pro, a really good anchor, so he handles power really well. And then, of course, he plays with a lot of toughness and finish. We went into this draft looking for that trait, and he definitely has that trait, that toughness, that nasty style of play.”
I would be completely fine if he locked down right tackle for the next decade, as defenses will put their premier pass rushers off either edge, and I would imagine the Bears would love that as well.
Here’s Pace from Friday night talking about Jenkins.
You want even more about Teven Jenkins? Then check out Robert Schmitz on his Bear With Me podcast for some instant reaction, and he’s joined by our Draftnik Trifecta of Jacob Infante, EJ Snyder, and Danny Meehan.
Keep track of all the Bears draft picks and draft trades in our tracker right here.
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