Ryan Poles was exposed to many philosophies during his time in Kansas City. One of them was the Green Bay Packers’ method of team building through John Dorsey. He was a student of the Ron Wolf style, where it was wise to invest at quarterback often, even if you already have a franchise guy. Even though the Chiefs had a Pro Bowler in Alex Smith, they still drafted guys like Aaron Murray and Kevin Hogan between 2014 and 2016 before finally landing Patrick Mahomes in 2017. It can’t be crazy to think Poles might take a similar approach to the Chicago Bears.
Remember, the team has ten picks in this draft. They can easily spare one of the later ones on a development quarterback if they wish. It appears there is at least one notable name they’re interested according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. That is Aidan O’Connell of Purdue. The young man started two seasons for the Boilermakers, throwing for over 7,000 yards with 50 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He then coupled that with an excellent week at the Shrine Bowl. The buzz around him is real.
Chicago Bears have good reasons to like O’Connell.
Purdue has a glowing history at the quarterback position. Len Dawson and Bob Griese are already in the Hall of Fame. Drew Brees will join them in a couple of years. Jim Everett started ten seasons and made the Pro Bowl. Bears fans will also remember Kyle Orton, who led the team to ten wins in 2005 as a rookie and got them to 9-7 in 2008 as well. This school tends to produce signal-callers that can play in the NFL. O’Connell is no different. The primary knocks on him involve an overall lack of mobility and okay-not-great arm strength.
So his fit in the Chicago Bears offense is somewhat awkward. However, he makes up for those deficiencies with great accuracy, timing, pocket poise, and field vision. Matt Eberflus always talks about being able to make the anticipatory throws and taking the easier throws when available. O’Connell proved he could do all of that. If the Bears were looking for a perfect developmental backup, they could do a lot worse. They have four picks in the 4th and 5th round. One of them can be spared for him.
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