Ryan Poles is barely months into his tenure as GM of the Chicago Bears. He is learning fast that he inherited a fanbase that is equal parts rabid and pessimistic. Every single move he makes is under severe scrutiny. Even those he doesn’t make. Thus far, fans aren’t overly impressed with what he’s done. Most of his additions to the roster have been of the bargain shopping variety. It is clear Poles has no intention of overstretching his resources to make a splash.
While understandable from a business sense, it does nothing to calm concerns about if the Bears are doing enough to help Justin Fields. People are struggling to understand why they should trust this 36-year-old. There is no way to answer that because Poles’ work isn’t complete. The NFL draft is still to come, and the man stated from the outset that he intends to build this organization through that.
There is still room for optimism.
Rich Cimini of ESPN helped provide some. In a recent column, he broke down data intent on determining which teams have gotten the most overall value out of their draft picks during the past decade. Only one team ranked ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs, who had positive grades on every draft class but one going back to 2013. One must not forget Poles was at the heart of it all as a leading man in their college scouting department.
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Kansas City didn’t reach its zenith over the past three years by signing all the big-name veterans or making non-stop aggressive trades. They drafted good players and developed them into great ones. That is what good organizations do. Once upon a time, the Bears were like that back in the 1980s and mid-2000s. They must get back to that if they ever want to get out of Green Bay’s shadow.
Ryan Poles won’t sacrifice big picture for another “quick burst.”
Remember what he said last month. The Bears have managed the occasional burst of one or two winning seasons thanks to some free agent spending and a bold trade or two. Yet, it hasn’t achieved the ultimate goal of winning a championship or making the playoffs consistently in the long run. That is because, by and large, they’ve done a poor job drafting. Cimini ranked them 21st in the league for overall draft value. Their 2012 and 2015 classes were particularly bad.
Shea McClellin and Kevin White as the 1st round picks. Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Goldman showed early promise only to be off the roster before their 30th birthdays. Constant setbacks like that are hard to overcome. Part of the reason is neither Phil Emery or Ryan Pace made the total commitment to building through the draft. They were more than happy being active in free agency every year.
Over time, no team can sustain such an approach without consequences.
Ryan Poles decided to draw a line in the sand. His team will be built in the draft. Any veteran move made will be cost-effective. This sort of thing takes time, and the Bears are thin on resources right now. The only thing to do is wait and see. Not exactly a core strength of this fanbase.
