Ryan Poles managed to avoid serious criticism through his first couple of years as the Chicago Bears‘ GM. However, there was always one pick people went back to when wondering if he had any clue what he was doing. It was when he selected Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones in the 3rd round of the 2022 draft. Many couldn’t make sense of it. Jones only had one year of significant production as a wide receiver; worse, he was already turning 25. Nothing about him suggested he was ready to take the leap. It didn’t help that possible offensive line solutions like Abraham Lucas and Bernard Raimann were still on the board. It hurts even more knowing the Lions got Kerby Joseph later in that same round. Jones had a forgettable run with the team. Most felt nobody would top him for head-scratching picks by Poles. Enter Kiran Amegadjie.
Once again in the 3rd round, the Bears took the left tackle out of Yale in 2024. Not only was this ahead of standout guard Dominick Puni, but also emerging receiver Troy Franklin. What made it worse was that Amegadjie nursed a quad injury that knocked him out for most of training camp. Poles defended the pick, believing the young tackle was worth the patience. One can imagine how red his cheeks got when Amegadjie went on IR this week with an elbow injury.
Kiran Amegadjie is a wasted pick.
There is no getting around that reality now. He missed most of the previous camp with a quad issue. Then, another injury hampered his progress this past August, dropping him out of the left tackle competition. Since then, Theo Benedet overtook him on the depth chart. Now he’s out for at least a month. To add insult to injury, he’s playing for a coaching staff with no hand in drafting him. There is a strong probability he may not be on the roster after this season. That means Poles will have sunk a valuable 3rd round pick into a player who gave them six games of work. People can argue Jones was a bad pick, but at least he brought some value as a kick returner. Kiran Amegadjie has done nothing. That makes him Poles’ worst pick by a mile.
