Player: Ivan Pace Jr.
School: Cincinnati
Measurables:
- Height: 5’10.5” (NFL Combine)
- Weight: 231 (NFL Combine)
- 40: 4.62 (Pro Day)
- 10 Yard Split: ?
- Bench: 22 (Pro Day)
- Vertical Jump: 35” (Pro Day)
- Broad Jump: 9’8” (Pro Day)
- 3 Cone: 7.18 (Pro Day)
- 20 Yard Shuttle: 4.4 (Pro Day)
Graded Position Specific Traits:
- Run Support: 7/10
- Tackling: 7/10
- Field Vision: 6.5/10
- Man Coverage: 5/10
- Zone Coverage: 5.75/10
- Blitzing: 6.25/10
- Block Shedding: 5.25/10
- Range: 6/10
Prospect Grade: 48.75/80; 60.9%- Role player and borderline starter with potential to be three down starter
Projected Draft Day: Late Round 3- Round 4
Player Comparison: Shades of Devin Bush
Player Summary:
Pace is a really interesting prospect. I think I may have watched more of Pace’s film than just about anyone else. I can’t quite explain the reasoning behind it, but Pace was blitzed a ton by Cincinnati. When I first turned on the tape, my original thought was that he was an ineffective blitzer. However, the more I watched and the consistency in which he was asked to blitz, I realized that he didn’t look as effective because it’s hard to be effective as a blitzer when you are asked to go every snap. Building off that point, when Pace wasn’t blitzed and was able to read his keys and play like a LB he looked really good. “Eye candy”(motions, play action, etc) can get Pace to bite occasionally, but it’s not a consistent issue. He definitely has LB instincts.
He’s definitely a better box player in my opinion although not horrible in space. One of the first things I notice is that Pace, despite being 5’10.5”, plays really high at the snap. It seems like he struggles to see over the line and playing high is the only way for him to see into the backfield better. His 4.62 40 at the combine is surprising to me because he looks pretty fast on tape. He can definitely run sideline-to-sideline from what I saw. Pace’s ability to shed blocks is rough. Not saying he can’t do it, but the odds of him stack-and-shedding is not likely. He’s more likely to commit to a side and try to use his speed to dip around the blocker. It’s great if you can make the play; however, if you are the backer that the RB is making his cut off of, you are basically giving him a running lane.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t really give Pace much more than an average grade in man coverage because the only real man I could pick out was against backs out of the backfield, which wasn’t bad, but obviously that limits how and what you can grade. In zone, he’s not bad, but he does look like his spatial awareness could use some work.
Overall, it seemed like Pace was expected to be “Darrian Beavers lite” this year. When you watch the various alignments he was put in, the blitzing, the disruptive playmaker, it’s a flashback to watching Beavers last year. Pace absolutely has the ability to be a 3 down backer in the league, but there are things that need to be cleaned up in his game. He should be an impact player as a rookie in some sort of role as well as on special teams. Despite the talk about his stature, Pace is physical and he is relentless, and players like that are not easy to deal with.