The Chicago Bears have been careful about indicating their plans for the 10th overall pick in the draft later this month. GM Ryan Poles worked hard in March to free the team from having to address a core roster need. Three new interior offensive linemen and two solid defensive linemen were acquired. While the roster is far from complete, there are no glaring holes to worry about. That means the Bears could go in almost any direction, though it is felt their are certain positions unlikely to get much attention. Among them include linebacker, cornerback, guard, and quarterback.
However, Poles had an interesting comment about that. He spoke with Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic about the idea of where to focus a draft when the roster already has established starters at most positions.
“You’re looking at it multiple ways. One, it’s like short-term, long-term thinking. Two, it’s, you know, there’s certain positions like the premium ones where it’s not guaranteed you’re going to be in a spot to get one of those players. So, if we end up with a surplus, then let’s just figure it out after that and compete and the best guy wins. If someone, a young guy, has to wait, then he has to wait or other things could happen, where the guys that are currently in those spots get opportunities for other teams, so there is a lot of different options that could pop up.”
The Bears GM basically stated that the team is not afraid to draft a player that might be at a position of strength. It depends on how the board falls. Sure, it would be nice to secure somebody who can help them in a weaker spot, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.
Ryan Poles understands this as well as anybody.
A great example came in 2014. The St. Louis Rams didn’t go into the draft looking for defensive tackle help. They already had two quality starters, Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford. However, they were shocked when Pitt’s Aaron Donald fell to them at #13 overall. They could’ve easily just gone with a position of need, but GM Les Snead recognized this was a talent they couldn’t pass on. St. Louis took Donald and he went on to a Hall of Fame career. This is what Poles means when not being afraid of obtaining a surplus at certain positions.
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He watched the Kansas City Chiefs do it as well. They didn’t need a quarterback in 2017. Alex Smith had led them to the playoffs in 2013, 2015 and 2016. However, Patrick Mahomes was a prospect GM Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid knew could be special. So they moved up to get him.
That is where Ryan Poles is at. He feels the Bears’ roster is in a good place. That means he shouldn’t be afraid of grabbing players who have special qualities, even if they join a position group that isn’t looking for immediate starters.
Just a quick question @BearDownTX — Which player(s) would you rather have on the 2025 Bears team:
▪︎. Kiran Amegadjie
▪︎. Payton Wilson, or
▪︎ Tremaine Edmunds?
Let’s see if you can spot “the steal.”
If the Bears do not have holes to fill, then they certainly have many weaknesses, questions, and lack of solid depth. And that’s all well into the Fourth 4 4 4 4 year of the Poles “jack black” patchwork re-rebuild.
I don’t think the Bears really have guys at almost any position who deserve to feel safe as starters, LB – Tremaine Edmunds? Are you kidding me? CB – who’s your “unquestioned starter” across from Johnson? Safety – Are you Brisker will be able to keep playing after multiple concussions?
I’m sure some of you probably think CW needs competition. But the time for that was last year, before you annointed him as your starter, now you need to stay the course with him.
If memory serves me correctly, the Bears selected right after the Aaron Donald selection. They could have traded up but did not. The rest is painful history from the very beginning. Now the Bears let a good LB go his own way which I disagreed with immediately. He played his best when the rest of the defense did not. That makes LB Jihaad more relevant at either pick #10 or perhaps a risky trade down. Like Abdul, he is great rushing the passer. Still, if the value is there it would be smarter to draft for the DE/DT positions. Or… Read more »
I agree with Veece! A position that is rarely talked about and is necessary to improve is LB. Edmunds has been a disaster, Edwards is solid but aging, and they let a starter leave for the Cowboys. Unfortunately there isn’t any sure fire LB in this class, but you may see them gamble on one or two in the third round and after.