Everybody has heard the rumors by now. The Chicago Bears are open for business. Even after trading down from #1 overall, it appears GM Ryan Poles is open to doing so a second time. The prevailing belief is he’s still interested in stockpiling more picks. His goal might be to land one between the 20th and 45th spots. Most experts agree that is the sweet spot for landing good players at great value. Poles is all about value, and he lost positioning in that area when he traded for Chase Claypool.
His motivation might go beyond simply that, though. Nicholas Moreano of CHGO spoke to offensive line expert Brandon Thorn about his thoughts on the 2023 draft class. While discussing his views, Thorn offered a potential window into Poles’ thinking—namely why he might feel comfortable moving down.
I have him with like a middle-of-the-first-round type grade — maybe closer to the end of the first round. Like I said, the anchor, play strength thing and I compare him to Brian O’Neill. That’s how I kind of see it. Just the left tackle version. Brian O’Neill is good, he’s not great but he’s good, and that’s how I see Paris being. Then after that Broderick Jones and then Darnell Wright would be my third. Then Anton Harrison fourth and Dawand Jones fifth. Dawand Jones and Anton Harrison closer to like early second round grades. Darnell Wright late first, early second and then Broderick Jones and Paris Johnson.
If Thorn’s assessment is correct, then most teams don’t think any of the top tackles in this draft class are worth taking in the top 10. It would be wiser to secure them closer to the mid-teens. Presuming Poles would like to take one of them, it now makes perfect sense why he’s interested in moving down again.
Chicago Bears seem anxious to work their board.
It would be easy to simply stay put at #9 overall and take the best player on their board. However, smart people understand that is an inefficient way to draft. Jimmy Johnson once said he didn’t want to take the best player available. He wanted to take the player he wanted. If he felt he could get that player further down the board, then he’d trade down to a spot where it made sense. This way, he’d still get his player and another pick or two on top of that. This process helped the Dallas Cowboys forge a dynasty in the 1990s.
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Poles seems to operate under the same mindset. If he feels a player he wants will still be available further down the board, he will trade back. That is what happened with Braxton Jones last year. The Chicago Bears had 3rd round grades on him. However, it became apparent other teams weren’t showing much interest. So Poles moved down multiple times, scooped up extra picks, and still got Jones. He seems confident he can do the same again. It comes down to whether he can find a trade partner.
