My biggest criticism of Pace is his lack of flexibility with regards to BPA. This is how I see it. In terms of overall talent, there are probably five or six players in the draft that have more physical talent at their position than Watson. Off the top of my head: Garrett, Hooker, Thomas, Lattimore, Allen, maybe Adams although I see him as the safety equivalent of Watson. You could argue a few others too (Fournette for example).
So, if Pace has him as the sixth best overall player or slightly worse, he will probably pass on him at 3 using pure BPA (which is what he has repeatedly said to us he will do). Whereas if manages to trade down with the Jets at #6 and Watson is still there, he might take him. It just feels like this approach leaves too much to chance: to take Watson at the right value, we'd be counting on a trade down partner and no-one taking him ahead of us.
I think this is a perfectly defendable approach when you have multiple holes on your roster but it just doesn't work with the QB. You can't rely on a QB you like being there when you would like to pick them. The position is too important AND the particular skill set and mental make up you are looking for is so precise that you may only identify one or two each year that you would be comfortable taking. When you do identify these players, you need to draft them when you are on the clock, even if that is a little high.
This is what I don't understand with those who will happily pass on a QB this year. What if there is a QB you like next year (not the top two because they go 1 and 2 in all likelihood and we won't be in range for that). Say you like the third QB in the 2018 class but Pace only likes him at 20-25 and we're picking 10-12.
My question is this: are you OK with a strict BPA approach with regards to QB?