Ryan Poles has now been the general manager of the Chicago Bears for five offseasons. In that time, he has not spent a 1st round pick on a defensive lineman. Not once. That is a distinction no other Bears GM holds. Ryan Pace took his in year two. Phil Emery took his in year one. Jerry Angelo took his in year three. It felt like a long-standing tradition for a Bears general manager to use a top draft choice on that position group. Poles has instead focused on beefing up the offense for most of his time. Dillon Thieneman became his first defensive pick this year, and he’s a safety.
To date, he has used six draft picks on defensive linemen. Four of them have come from outside the first two rounds. None has managed to produce a season of eight or more sacks. It has led to several recriminations from fans and media that Poles is guilty of passing up way too many opportunities to bolster a critical part of the roster. I was curious if this is true or not. So I did some research. Here is what I found, with some key notes.
- I restricted the search to the first two rounds. Most agree that picking beyond that is a crapshoot.
- I’m covering every Bears pick and then pinpointing defensive line options who went within ten spots after each one. I felt this was a wide enough buffer to identify players who would’ve been reasonable alternatives before getting into the realm of unrealistic reach. Hindsight must be left out of this.
Is Ryan Poles guilty? Yes, to a minor degree.
| Year | 1st Round Picks | D-lineman taken in the next 10 picks |
| 2023 | Darnell Wright | Lukas Van Ness, Will McDonald, Calijah Kancey |
| 2024 | Caleb Williams | N/A |
| 2024 | Rome Odunze | Laiatu Latu, Byron Murphy, Jared Verse |
| 2025 | Colston Loveland | Mykel Williams, Kenneth Grant, Jalon Walker, Walter Nolan, Shemar Stewart |
| Year | 2nd Round Picks | D-linemen taken in the next 10 picks |
| 2022 | Kyler Gordon | Boye Mafe, Josh Paschal, Phidarian Mathis |
| 2022 | Jaquan Brisker | Sam Williams |
| 2023 | Gervon Dexter | Doesn’t qualify since he is a defensive tackle |
| 2023 | Tyrique Stevenson | Zacch Pickens |
| 2025 | Luther Burden | T.J. Sanders, Alfred Collins, Donovan Ezeiruaku, JT Tuimoloau |
| 2025 | Ozzy Trapilo | Mike Green, Shemar Turner, Omarr Norman-Lott, Darius Alexander, Ashton Gillotte |
Based on the available data, there was one specific instance in which Poles probably had a stronger case for going with a defensive lineman over his eventual choice. That was in 2024 when taking Odunze with the 9th overall pick. Latu, Murphy, and Verse have all become highly effective pass rushers over the past two years. Latu had 8.5 sacks last season. Verse had 7.5 and 27 QB hits. Murphy won the Super Bowl in Seattle. Though Odunze has had some good stretches in the past two years, he has also been plagued by drops and health problems.
Poles has missed opportunities, but also hasn’t had many.
The harsh truth of it is that the Bears haven’t really been in a great spot to take defensive linemen since Ryan Poles arrived. He had no 1st round pick in 2022, which wouldn’t have mattered because the best options that year (Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, and Kayvon Thibodeaux) were all gone before they would’ve gone on the clock. The next year, he could’ve taken Jalen Carter at #9 overall, but everybody knew about his personal issues. It was too big a risk for a rebuilding team. Poles ended up landing an All-Pro tackle anyway.
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There was no way he was passing on a quarterback at #1 overall in 2024. A year later, the best options (Abdul Carter and Mason Graham) were gone before the Bears picked. This year? Five edge rushers were off the board before they went on the clock. The harsh truth is that Poles just don’t have enough chances to take a swing at a defensive lineman early. Even during the one time he arguably should’ve, he had a reasonable justification to prioritize getting his new quarterback another weapon.
Due to this hard luck, Poles has tried to make it up with veteran moves.
His trade for Montez Sweat has proven to be a good one. He has 22.5 sacks in 44 games since coming over from Washington. While not a superstar, he is certainly a worthwhile addition. It’s been free agency where Poles has failed to make a significant impact. Most of his notable signings, like Al-Quadin Muhammad, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Grady Jarrett, failed to move the needle. Andrew Billings and DeMarcus Walker were solid role players, but not impact guys. Thus, here is where the Bears sit.
They’re saddled with too many expensive contracts to take another swing at the veteran market. As a result, they’re left hoping that incumbents like Austin Booker and Shemar Turner can take a big step forward this season. Maybe rookie 6th round pick Jordan Van Den Berg can contribute too. Not ideal. The hard truth is that this problem stems from a mixture of bad circumstances, one questionable pick, and poor pro scouting. Poles does deserve some criticism for the state of things, but it can’t all be placed on him.
