Ryan Poles faced a problem when he took over the Chicago Bears. Thanks to several trades made by predecessor Ryan Pace, he only had five picks in the upcoming 2022 NFL draft. That included no 1st rounder. It is challenging to rebuild a roster that way. So the new GM faced some tough decisions. He had to get more picks. That started in blockbuster fashion when he sent Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers for a 2nd round pick.
It was a necessary first step but not enough for Poles. He needed more. Going into draft weekend, he recognized the lack of high picks made his odds of landing good players difficult. So he decided to employ a different tactic. Through a series of trades on the third day, the Bears went from six picks to 11 by the draft’s conclusion. He explained his reasoning during his press conference following the action.
“Any time you have more ammunition, the better, in terms of getting hits and that was kind of the thought process.”
It is a logical line of thinking.
In the absence of a 1st round pick and no 4th round pick too, Poles operated under the belief that if he could fire off a series of shots at several late round players (8 in this instance), it increased the Bears’ odds of landing some hidden gems. Curious, I decided to look back at history. The NFL draft moved to a 7-round format in 1993. In that time, the Bears have had four instances where they had ten or more picks. The results were fascinating. I highlighted some notable Day 3 selections.
1997
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Robinson became an outstanding receiver by 1999, exploding for 1,400 yards that season. He looked like a budding superstar. He was playing great again in 2000, but injuries robbed him of five games. Then a brutal knee injury ended his 2001 season after four games. He was never the same after that.
1999
The juxtaposition of this draft was astounding. McNown is arguably one of the two or three worst picks in Bears history. At the same time, landing an excellent pass rusher in Colvin and a future Pro Bowl returner in Azumah, who was also a solid corner, proves the strategy can work. It offers an opportunity for a team to overcome early mistakes with numerous hits later in the draft.
2003
How about that 2nd and 3rd round, right? While their third day wasn’t as memorable, the Chicago Bears still did great work. Scott was a more than serviceable defensive tackle. Wade and Gage were productive #3-4 receivers. Odom became a standout on special teams for three years from 2003 to 2005.
2008
Steltz was never much of a safety, but he was a terrific special teams player for several years in Chicago. Bowman was marred by inconsistency most of his career, but he had two standout seasons with six interceptions in 2009 and three in 2013. He too served well on special teams. Davis was a quality blocking tight end who was good for the occasional touchdown catch.
Ryan Poles’ new approach has its benefits.
While it may rarely yield superstar players, it is often a great way to build quality team depth while also securing special teams help. The former was a huge problem for the Bears over the past several years. They found good players but were too often undone by injuries because they didn’t have good depth. If Ryan Poles continues with this method of drafting in the coming years, it should help to ease that problem.
What makes it so maddening is Mark Hatley and Jerry Angelo were the two men who embraced this strategy. Both weren’t particularly good at finding talent in the later rounds. Conversely, Pace was great at it but he was too enamored with trading up. Maybe Poles has a chance to bridge that critical gap. Somebody that wants to stack picks and is also adept at finding good players late.
