Ryan Poles isn’t even a full year into his tenure as Chicago Bears GM. Yet that hasn’t stopped fans from lambasting him for countless failures at making this team a winner—most of the vitriol centers around his inability to build a better structure around quarterback Justin Fields. As usual, people fail to take the broader context into account. Poles is basically like a U.S. president taking over his first year of office. The country is struggling, and he’s getting the blame even though the previous president instituted many policies that led to the issues.
That is where Poles is at. He didn’t create this mess. He inherited it from Ryan Pace. Team building in the NFL is multifaceted. Good players can be found almost anywhere in the draft, in free agency, and on the trade market. However, most executives would agree with one undeniable reality. The teams that can consistently hit on their 1st round picks almost always end up having sustained success. This is prevalent in the Bears to an extreme degree. Check out the list below, which compares every roster with a winning record so far this season to the Bears.
Number of homegrown 1st round picks on current roster:
- Philadelphia Eagles – 7
- Buffalo Bills – 7
- Minnesota Vikings – 5
- New York Giants – 7
- Dallas Cowboys – 7
- Kansas City Chiefs – 4
- Los Angeles Chargers – 7
- New York Jets – 7
- Tennessee Titans – 4
- Chicago Bears – 2
Let that sink in. The Bears have two 1st round picks on their roster from the past decade. One is Roquan Smith, easily their most successful in that timespan, and the other is Justin Fields, their most recent. Here is what happened to the rest.
- 2012 – Shea McClellin (bust)
- 2013 – Kyle Long (Retired early due to injuries)
- 2014 – Kyle Fuller (Good pick but faded as he hit his 30s)
- 2015 – Kevin White (bust)
- 2016 – Leonard Floyd (underwhelmed)
- 2017 – Mitch Trubisky (underwhelmed)
- 2018 – Roquan Smith (Hit)
- 2019 – Traded for Khalil Mack
- 2020 – Traded for Khalil Mack
- 2021 – Justin Fields (not looking good)
- 2022 – Traded for Fields
The Chicago Bears hit on three 1st round picks in a decade.
Two of them were in the decade’s first half and didn’t reach their 30s before leaving the team. If people were looking for the primary reason why this team is terrible, there you go. Pace not only made mostly underwhelming 1st round picks, he traded three of the last four away in desperate attempts to build a winner. That egregious mismanagement is why the Bears are in their current state. They have little star power and minimal roster depth.
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Poles knew this was coming in. It is why the young GM overturned more than half the roster. He understands good teams are built through the draft. Pace left him with no 1st rounder in his inaugural off-season. The real work can finally begin in 2023 when the Chicago Bears are back in the 1st round. At their current trajectory, the likelihood is high they’ll end up in the top 10. That could be a great launching point for their rebuild if Poles can secure a true difference-maker. Something his predecessors failed to accomplish far too often.
QBs are drafted in the 1st rd
Pace busted on 2.
Why do you think he traded 4 1st rd picks in 5 years . Because he could hit on a 1st rd. You don’t trade those picks unless you had a chance at super bow,
He kept his job by hiting on lower picks.
@Peanuthead.. It’s still was Paces call in the end. He made the final decisions. The scouts help in EVERY round. It’s ok to give Pace some credit. All everyone does is say how awful Pace was. He absolutely had his faults, several of them, but in your own words, give the man his dues for the late round success. Oh, and Pace built that scouting dept.. sooo… Everyone is already praising Poles for the late round work this year, so I don’t understand why that same scenario is different for Pace. Other than the hatred for Pace since he’s gone.
We sure are defending Ryan Poles. Here is a more glaring stat about Bears and Poles: Of the 15 players he brought in to help or change the offense, not a single one has made a consistent impact. Three TD’s by Pettis and Velus Jones combined, and each has given up, dropped, or fumbled away more than their contributions. Moving to the O-line. Start with Patrick. Tied with Mustipher for worst performing linemen in the NFL. Hold Poles to the same standards as you are doing scrutinizing Fields. My worst nightmare scenario is Poles drafting a QB withis unproven offensive… Read more »
I’m tired of hearing how well Pace did in the later rounds. It’s total BS. GMs make the call on the early round potentially “blue chip” talent. Getting diamonds in the rough in the later rounds is a result of having a solid scouting department out there unearthing these gems. Give credit where it is due.
The other thing to remember….the Bears have been in every game they have played, always within 1 score, save for the Packers but even the Packers are beatable.