The Chicago Bears have 57 players under contract with just over three weeks before the NFL draft. That leaves 33 roster spots left to fill. Considering that they only have six draft picks, it means 27 slots remain to be filled unless GM Ryan Poles finds a way to secure more. Yet the team hasn’t signed a player for almost a week now, inking veteran safety Dane Cruikshank. It feels more and more like Poles has shifted his focus to the draft and by extension, undrafted free agency.
One reason offered as to why the Bears have left so many roster spots open is that they’re aiming to entice undrafted players to Chicago with greater opportunities than they will find elsewhere. Sources told SM this strategy is indeed expected. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune also indicated as much, stating his belief the team could sign as many as 15 undrafted players. That would equal the same number Ryan Pace signed in his first year with the team back in 2015.
The strategy is simple enough.
With the Bears likely rebuilding, they need to secure talent that is young and cheap. The undrafted market makes sense in that context. Sure, it isn’t known for yielding many stars but teams that embrace it have often benefitted more than people realize. That includes Chicago. That 2015 class produced some notable names, including Rice cornerback Bryce Callahan and Illinois State wide receiver Cameron Meredith. Eventual Eagles Pro Bowl long snapper Rick Lovato was another.
There is a benefit to casting the net wide each year. It increases the odds of a team landing two or three meaningful contributors. The NFL would like everybody to think the draft is a flawless process. Yet every year proves that to be a farce. Teams miss on prospects all the time. Guys slip through the cracks for a variety of reasons. Some of them are medical, some are off-the-field related, and others come from smaller schools.
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Poles himself was an undrafted free agent out of Boston College in 2008 for the Bears. He still carries that mentality with him to this day. It isn’t hard to imagine he would be someone that embraces the idea of giving such young men real opportunities in Chicago. It also comes from his trust in head coach Matt Eberflus. Poles emphasized teaching ability as one of the reasons he hired the former Colts defensive coordinator. Teacher-type coaches are often the ones most successful at developing undrafted players.
That is probably why the team never had much success with them after Matt Nagy arrived in 2018. The truth is the Chicago Bears have conducted their pre-draft process with this thinking in mind. Many of the players that have surfaced over the past few weeks as having met with them are names expected to be potential undrafted options. Edge rusher Esezi Otomewo of Minnesota and wide receiver Tyrice Richie of Northern Illinois are two such examples.
There are guaranteed to be many more.
The big challenge for Poles and his front office will be hitting the phones the moment the draft ends and making sales pitches to those prospects. It will be a major test for the 36-year old battling against some of the most seasoned GMs in the business.
