Ryan Poles Must Fix Bears’ Biggest Draft Flaw To Chase A Title

There are many reasons why the Chicago Bears have been mired in mediocrity for the better part of 30 years. They’ve had money-driven people making football decisions at the top. They often don’t hire the right head coaches or the right GMs. Yet, often the reality is simpler. If you want to have success in this league on a consistent basis, you have to hit on your top draft picks. That means the 1st round. Ryan Poles will take his first swing in that range in less than two weeks.

People often forget the ugly history he’s fighting against. From 1975 through 1990, the Bears actually had a strong track record with 1st round picks. Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, Otis Wilson, Keith Van Horne, Jim McMahon, Wilber Marshall, William Perry, Neal Anderson, Trey Armstrong, and Mark Carrier were all taken in that time period. However, things started going wrong in 1991. From that point onward, the Bears have had more misses than hits, including some of their all-time worst busts.

Ryan Poles was well-trained for this.

He comes from an organization in Kansas City that has done really well in the 1st round during the time the Bears GM spent with them as a scout and personnel executive. Of the nine picks they’ve made between 2009 and 2021 when Poles was there, only two were outright busts, and six made at least one Pro Bowl in their NFL career. That offers one hope that Poles knows what he’s doing. He understands the type of player to target early in a draft. Fans are anxious to see who that player will be.

An interesting note from that run in Kansas City is most of those picks were either a defensive back or a lineman. Only three strayed away from that formula. One was wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin, one was quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the last was running Clyde Edwards-Helaire. That should offer a clear indication of where Ryan Poles will place his focus when the Bears go on the clock on April 27th.