GM Ryan Poles knew what he wanted to do not long after the Chicago Bears’ 2022 season ended. He held the #1 pick. Having done a ton of research on the incoming draft class, it was evident his best course of action was trading the pick and acquiring assets. This wasn’t the year to look for star power. The smart thing was to ship the pick out to a team desperate for a quarterback. He knew he could pull it off after meeting with the prospects. After some productive meetings before, during, and after the combine, Poles secured the deal he was looking for.
He sent #1 to Carolina for the 9th pick, 61st pick, a 1st in 2024, 2nd in 2025, and wide receiver D.J. Moore. People were surprised the Bears were willing to move down so far, sacrificing an opportunity to land one of the top defensive linemen in the class. However, it appears Poles may have had ulterior motives. Shortly after the deal took place, rumors began swirling he might look to trade down again. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network is only now realizing why. He explained during a conference call with several media members.
“So I thought it was smart to go to 9. It made the most sense. I love the return they got, and the crazy thing about it is I think as we’re a week out, I think never would have thought this when they made that trade, but they might be sitting there with more quarterbacks still on the board when they pick at 9 and might be faced with another opportunity to continue to add more picks.
I really thought that was the smart move that they made.”
Did Ryan Poles always think this could happen?
It’s possible. He said the interviews told him a lot about how this quarterback class would unfold. It would explain why he was adamant about quickly getting a deal done. Perhaps he knew teams might cool on some of the QBs as the draft got closer. Now all of a sudden, there is a real possibility one or two of them could tumble out of the top five. If they reach that #9 spot, the Bears would be in a great position. Tennessee would sit at #11. Everybody knows they need a quarterback.
That means Houston (#12), Washington (#16), and Tampa Bay (#19) all might feel compelled to jump ahead of them. That doesn’t include Baltimore (#22) and Minnesota (#23), who could also be sleepers. So yeah. Jeremiah is correct. Ryan Poles has secured a great package for #1 overall and has put his team in a position to cash in a second time. If the Bears GM foresaw this possibility, you might as well give him the Executive of the Year award right now.
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