Ryan Poles spoke with the media for the first time since the off-season officially began. The Chicago Bears GM has been busy. It started with that blockbuster trade with Carolina for the #1 overall pick, securing a massive package in return, including the 9th overall pick, a future 1st rounder, and wide receiver D.J. Moore. It was the earliest any team has ever traded the top pick in the draft and only the third time since the dawn of the new millennium. It took plenty of guts to make such a bold decision.
So why did Poles do it? He explained himself from the outset, stating the extra draft capital for now and in the future, along with a proven weapon for his quarterback, was simply too good to pass up.
“That was a long process. Lot of twists and turns, but we got it done. I think both teams got what they wanted out of the deal and we’ll both continue to get better. With that, to add capital this year in the draft, as well as the future, set ourselves up with two 1s in ’24, I couldn’t be happier about that. But then when you add a player like D.J. Moore who can help us right now get better, continue to add weapons to our team, I was over the moon about that.”
The other interesting part was the timing.
Some people were curious why Poles elected to pull the trigger so soon. Perhaps waiting would’ve yielded a bigger return. There were a few factors. Poles was comfortable with the makeup of the draft class and that he could find a good player further down the board. In addition, he felt waiting carried the risk of teams getting cold feet. Once Moore became involved, the offer was too good to pass up.
Ryan Poles deserves credit for this entire process.
Not once throughout it did he ever seem out of control. He knew what he was doing. He knew what he wanted. In the end, he got the best of both worlds. The Bears secured two future draft picks and also got their young quarterback a legitimate receiver that opponents must respect. Poles made the team better now and has the ammunition to keep making them better in the future. That is what competent GMs are supposed to do. This even accounts for what he accomplished in free agency, adding two excellent linebackers and a young, athletic guard.
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The main event hasn’t even arrived yet. The NFL draft is still over a month away. There is still tons of work to do in free agency. Chicago has ten picks, with four in the first three rounds. Ryan Poles may look to add even more. He is determined to stack this roster with young as much young talent as possible. His process is substantially different from his predecessor, Ryan Pace. It also makes way more sense. That is what is the most encouraging.
