Former Scout Doubles Down On Chicago Bears Trade Rumor
Ryan Poles pulled off a rare feat last week when he shipped the #1 pick to Carolina for the #9 pick, three additional picks, and wide receiver D.J. Moore. Most assumed that the Chicago Bears GM was content in his new spot. He’d like to be able to fill a key roster need at 9th overall. Except rumblings have already started that Poles may not be finished. Some believe he is already laying the groundwork for trading down again, continuing to stockpile more picks. Poles himself even hinted at it during his latest press conference.
One person that has fanned the flame more than any other lately is Greg Gabriel of Windy City Gridiron. A former Bears scout, he has several connections across the NFL, including Halas Hall. He was one of the first people to bring up the idea that Chicago could move down again. A week later, Gabriel sounds even more confident it will likely happen. He said as much on the Barroom Network. If things go as expected, there is a better than 50% chance the Bears will move down again.
The Chicago Bears are clearly under new management.
Ryan Pace never would’ve ever considered the possibility of trading down in the 1st round. The thought was foreign to him. He moved up more often than not. The man was very much quality over quantity. Poles thinks differently. He feels the more picks you have, the better your odds are of finding good players. This entire sequence of events also says something else. He doesn’t think too highly of the projected top players in this draft class. The difference in talent between somebody at #9 vs. somebody at #16 is negligible.
That is why moving down makes sense, at least in his mind. Gabriel believes the goal is to get a cluster of picks somewhere between the #20 and #50 spots. That is where teams should be able to find great talent value. That is a problem for Poles. The Chicago Bears have no picks in that range. After 9th overall, they don’t pick again until 54th. Fixing that problem appears to be high on the priority list. This comes down to whether they can find a trade partner between now and the draft.