Ryan Poles Is About To Face A Test Bears GMs Have Failed For The Past 40 Years
Ryan Poles finally achieved the first part of his goal as Chicago Bears general manager. They took the North, going 11-6 and winning the division. They even won a playoff game over the Green Bay Packers. Now comes the hard part: maintain their place among the NFC contenders. To do that, Poles must achieve something previous Bears GMs haven’t for the past 40 years. He must find a way to draft well in the bottom half of the 1st round. Until now, he has enjoyed a steady supply of top 10 picks. That is no longer an option.
Great teams aren’t just able to build a good roster. They sustain it through capable drafting, even if it’s with later picks. Philadelphia and Baltimore are two such examples. Kansas City and Pittsburgh have also done it well. The Bears? There have been three instances in the Super Bowl era where they picked in the 20s or later. Let’s just say the results were mixed.
1985-1988
- William Perry
- Neal Anderson
- Jim Harbaugh
- Brad Muster and Wendell Davis
1991-1992
- Stan Thomas
- Alonzo Spellman
2007-2013
- Greg Olsen
- Chris Williams
- No pick (Cutler trade)
- No pick (Cutler trade)
- Gabe Carimi
- Shea McClellin
- Kyle Long
Ryan Poles is well-educated on this challenge.
He was in Kansas City during the building phase of their eventual dynasty run. In a three-year span, they took Dee Ford (23rd), Marcus Peters (18th), and Chris Jones (37th). Then they traded up to 10th in 2017 and nabbed Patrick Mahomes. The rest is history. Assistant GM Ian Cunningham also brings plenty of knowledge on this issue. He worked for both the Eagles and Ravens as a scout and personnel director. In Baltimore, he helped them land Joe Flacco (18th), Michael Oher (23rd), Jimmy Smith (27th), and Courtney Upshaw (35th). All were pivotal to that team’s 2012 Super Bowl run.
Finding star power that late in the 1st round is almost impossible. However, teams should still be able to find good players. That is the goal in front of Ryan Poles. In the absence of scoring a generational player, he should be focused on providing his team with a steady stream of capable starters. Teams that achieve this goal remain competitive over the long term. With a little luck, it will eventually coalesce into a championship run at some point in the next few years.