The Chicago Bears’ 2016 NFL Draft class ranks extremely well just a year after the event.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace has not been perfect. His 2015 draft class leaves plenty to be desired and he has been constantly criticized for his work in the 2017 NFL Draft. That being said, Pace and the Bears front office deserves a ton of praise for their work in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The Bears’ draft picks last year were as followed:

Round 1 (9th Overall): Leonard Floyd, OLB

2 (56): Cody Whitehair, OL

3 (72): Jonathan Bullard, DL

4 (113): Nick Kwiatkowki, ILB

4 (124): Deon Bush, S

4 (127): Deiondre’ Hall, DB

5 (150): Jordan Howard, RB

6 (185): DeAndre Houston-Carson, S

7 (230): Daniel Braverman, WR

Pace did an incredible job of moving up and down the board in the 2016 draft, finding great value along the way. In Floyd and Whitehair, the Bears found two players who seem sure to make significant impacts on both sides of the ball.

On top of that, Pace and company found arguably the biggest steal in the draft when they landed Jordan Howard in the fifth round. Howard only started 13 games at running back for the Bears last season, but he was the second-leading rusher in the NFL with 1,313 yards. In Howard, Floyd and Whitehair, the Bears found a legitimate core of players to build around. They also did a nice job of finding high-upside talent in the other rounds.

One of the best

More than a year after the draft, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski put together a complete ranking for all of the 2016 NFL draft classes. As you would expect, the Bears do well in this ranking, coming in at number five.

Sobleski was particularly high on his praise for Howard.

“Everyone knows the Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott led the NFL in rushing during his first season. Another rookie finished second,” he wrote. “The Chicago Bears’ Jordan Howard was a workhorse for the Bears after being selected in the fifth round. The 225-pound back carried the ball 252 times for 1,313 yards. His 5.2 yards per carry also ranked second behind the Buffalo Bills’ LeSean McCoy (5.4) among backs with 200 or more carries. As one of the league’s leading rushers, Howard was named to his first Pro Bowl.”

Say what you want about the Bears’ performance in the 2017 NFL Draft, but there is no other way to look at it; Pace and company killed it in the 2016 draft. Guys like Howard, Floyd and Whitehair will undoubtedly be major building blocks going forward.

If Pace hit again with quarterback Mitch Trubisky this year, the Chicago Bears could quickly be a serious contender in the NFC.