No one could know what Ryan Pace would be as a GM when the Bears hired him after 14 years in the Saints front office. Close to three years after Pace left New Orleans, he will return Sunday with an established track record and an identity as a general manager.



He has had some hits. He has had some misses. The win-loss record is not flattering. But the philosophies with which he is building his team are difficult to argue with.



Based on his moves, these are some defining qualities of Pace.



1. He is a risk taker.



Pace believes a general manager has to gamble at times in order to attain greatness. Many — but not all — great general managers have been similar risk takers.



Gamblers ultimately are measured by the size of their chip pile. But their chances of a larger pile are enhanced if they can accurately measure the risk and reward of each wager.



Pace’s biggest bet was trading up for Mitch Trubisky. It’s too early to say if he won or lost, but it’s difficult to argue with taking a gamble on greatness at the quarterback position when there is organizational conviction about a player, as there was with Trubisky.



Pace traded up in the first round for Leonard Floyd as well, and he tried to trade up in the first round in 2015 for Marcus Mariota. That’s three first-round picks, three trade-up attempts. He sees something he likes, he tries to go and get it.



Instead of moving up for Mariota, Pace selected Kevin White with the seventh overall pick in 2015. It was a gamble only because White was an unfinished product. The selection of White is likely to go down as a bust, but not because White lacked NFL talent or the capacity to develop. White couldn’t stay healthy — and no one could have predicted that.



Pace could have predicted Pernell McPhee might have had problems staying healthy. McPhee had a history of knee issues when Pace gave him a five-year, $38.7 million deal in 2015. McPhee has had repeated knee issues since, missing 23 of 39 games.



Pace’s 2017 draft had so many gambles that his war room should have been at the Rivers Casino. He passed up needed defensive backs in the second round, trading down to take a small school tight end in Adam Shaheen. He selected a running back who can’t reach the chin-up bar in the weight room. And he chose a safety with an injury history who was coming off a broken leg.



So far, Tarik Cohen and Eddie Jackson look like a pair of aces. Shaheen has been slower to establish himself. Gamblers win some, lose some.



2. He likes to cast a wide net in free agency.



Any fisherman who uses a net will tell you he is hoping to catch some keepers, and he knows he will bring in some throwbacks. Pace has had his share of both, but the keepers have made the casts worthwhile.



He has some big catches like Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman. There should be 31 general managers kicking themselves for not signing...