It will take more than one draft pick to fix what is broken with the Chicago Bears. New GM Ryan Poles understands that as well as anybody. He’ll need at least two productive drafts this year and next year before the team shows signs of progress. It will help if Justin Fields takes a step forward at quarterback. That much is certain. Still, there is lots of heavy lifting ahead. It is likely Poles isn’t thinking too hard about having to nail that first pick later this month.
Here is the thing. He should. Not because it is necessarily a do-or-die scenario. Under normal NFL circumstances, a GM missing on his first pick is not a death sentence. However, it has proven to be a tone-setter when it comes to Chicago. Eight men have held the general manager power, if not the title, since 1974. Here are each of their first picks. It becomes apparent that the football gods sent a message to each one.
- Jim Finks – Walter Payton
- Jerry Vainisi – Wilbur Marshall
- Bill Tobin – Jim Harbaugh
- Rod Graves – John Thierry
- Mark Hatley – John Allred
- Jerry Angelo – Marc Colombo
- Phil Emery – Shea McClellin
- Ryan Pace – Kevin White
Remarkably consistent, isn’t it?
Finks ended up building the Bears’ only Super Bowl champion. Vainisi managed to keep the team competitive throughout the rest of the 1980s. Tobin did the same but never managed to find the same caliber of talent as before. Graves and Hatley were big disappointments. Angelo’s tenure was marked by success but ill-timed injuries. Emery was more interested in outsmarting everybody than picking the right players. Pace was often too in love with athletic upside vs. proven track record.
Ryan Poles has no room for excuses. Sure he doesn’t have a 1st round pick thanks to the trade to acquire Fields last season. Yet he willingly put added pressure on himself by not doing much spending in free agency. He’s said he wants to build through the draft and means it. That put further importance on him to nail that 39th pick. Especially when that exact spot has landed the likes of Fred Biletnikoff, Rashean Mathis, Mike Brown, Janoris Jenkins, Jerry Kramer, and Darryl Talley among others.
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Poles needs to get off on the right foot. Otherwise, he may fall into the same category as most of his predecessors. Not good enough.
