Following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft earlier this month, the Minnesota Vikings wound up adding a number of intriguing undrafted free agents, including linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who spent the final year of his college career at the University of Cincinnati.
When looking at everything Pace was able to achieve at Cincinnati in 2022, it's hard for some to understand how he went undrafted this year. The guy was a First-Team AP All-American and the AAC Defensive Player of the Year last season, in addition to being PFF's highest-graded linebacker of the year, and then at the 2023 Senior Bowl a few months ago, he left the event as the Defensive MVP.
So what prevented Pace from getting a phone call from the Vikings or any other NFL team during any of the seven rounds in this year's NFL Draft?
Uncontrollable factor likely resulted in Minnesota Vikings rookie LB Ivan Pace Jr. going undrafted
When attempting to determine why someone with so much success went undrafted earlier this month, many keep coming back to the same thing. Pace's size is just much smaller than the average NFL linebacker.
Measuring in at 5-foot-10 and 231 pounds, to go along with 30.25-inch arms, most pro scouts have likely assumed that Minnesota's rookie linebacker will get dominated by opposing blockers at the pro level.
Pace's size and frame is actually more comparable to an NFL running back. His measurements are very similar to guys like former Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy (Pace is a tiny beat leaner, of course) and former Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson.
During the pre-draft process, the rookie linebacker didn't really test that well either. After his Pro Day earlier this year, Pace wound up with a Relative Athletic Score of just 5.71 (based on a 0 to 10 scale). In comparison, second-year Vikings linebacker Brian Asamoah registered an 8.90 Relative Athletic Score during his pre-draft process in 2022.
Pace has had the deck stacked against him for the majority of his football career due to his size and poor athletic traits. But, at least in 2022, it didn't prevent him from being regarded as one of the best linebackers in the entire nation.
Will he end up proving his doubters wrong once again as a rookie for Minnesota during the upcoming season?