Things We Learned From Ryan Poles’ First Scouting Combine

The Super Bowl is over. Now the off-season can truly begin. The Chicago Bears have concluded their work on the Senior Bowl. In two weeks, GM Ryan Poles will shift his focus to the upcoming scouting combine. The Indianapolis event is considered by many to be the most important of every pre-draft cycle. No other collects as much of the top prospect in one place. They run through drills, testing their athletic capabilities, while also going through interviews with every team.

This event often cements players on draft boards, for better or worse. With the #1 overall pick and the first pick in every other round except the 2nd, Poles will have a big opportunity to improve his roster. To do that, he must collect as much data as possible. Perhaps reviewing what happened at the last combine in 2022 could offer an idea of what to expect in April. There were some interesting facts that came to light.

Ryan Poles showed some early combine tells with first draft.

Speed is a major key at offensive tackle.

The Bears’ offensive scheme is based on movement. It puts a high demand on the offensive line to operate in space. No position faces greater need for mobility than the offensive tackle. They must handle speed rushers off the edge while leading the way on outside zone runs. It requires a good athlete. That is why Braxton Jones became an immediate target. His 4.97 time in the 40-yard dash was 6th-best among tackles at the combine. The decision paid off. Jones started every snap for the Bears at left tackle and was their best run-blocker.

Lower body explosion matters with pass rushers.

Ryan Poles has only drafted one pass rusher thus far, so the data is incomplete. That said, Dominique Robinson did have one thing that stood out during his drills. He delivered a 41-inch jump in the vertical leap. It was the best of an edge defender at the entire combine. That suggests this regime prioritizes guys with good lower body explosion. This is a sound strategy. Some of the best pass rushers in the NFL all excelled in that drill. Names like Myles Garrett, Josh Sweat, Frank Clark, Brian Burns, and Aidan Hutchinson had jumps of 36 inches or better.

Length is a big deal for defensive backs.

Poles surprised a lot of people when his first two picks in his first-ever draft were defensive backs. Though Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker play different positions, they did share one thing in common. Both had arms in excess of 31 inches long. Matt Eberflus spoke several times about length being a big part of the evaluation process. Longer arms mean more opportunities for turnovers and also an easier time tackling. While speed will be an obvious focal point for the cameras, expect the team brass to keep the length measurements circled too.