No general manager ever bats a thousand when it comes to the NFL draft. You will have misses. It is inevitable. The goal is to have as few as possible while turning some of those hits into home runs. One must also strive to avoid catastrophic whiffs. The Chicago Bears have been party to both sides of that coin. Ryan Pace might’ve been the most infamous. For every huge hit like Roquan Smith or Eddie Jackson, he had brutal whiffs like Kevin White and Mitch Trubisky. Ryan Poles has done his best to avoid a similar fate.
By and large, his drafting hasn’t been overly horrible. There are no glaring misses to date. Each of his picks in the 1st and 2nd rounds has at least become a decent contributor, with some, like Kyler Gordon and Darnell Wright, already looking like keepers. Such praise continued in the 2025 draft with experts loving the additions of Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Ozzy Trapilo. However, that didn’t protect Poles from criticism. Eric Moody of ESPN believes the Bears’ GM had one of the worst picks of the draft.
Moody: Linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II to the Bears (No. 132). This fourth-round selection was shocking because many analysts predicted Hyppolite could go undrafted. I thought this was a major reach in the middle rounds by general manager Ryan Poles.
Ryan Poles didn’t go rogue. He acquiesced to his coach’s wishes.
The Bears GM admitted after the draft that Hyppolite was a deliberate pick. Going into the action, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen told him he wanted players with more speed. The Maryland linebacker clocked a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day, which is reflected on tape more than once. So while Hyppolite may not have carried the same buzz as other prospects, the Bears felt his natural talent was worth the calculated gamble, especially under a proven defensive strategist like Allen.
Besides, not everybody felt the pick was a complete reach. NFL.com rated Hyppolite as a 5th round prospect. Clearly, he had some people in the draft community aware of his talent. Besides, at least Ryan Poles saved his weird swing at an unknown name for the later rounds. Previous general managers had no qualms about doing so on days one and two.
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