The Chicago Bears have operated in an unorthodox fashion under GM Ryan Poles. He willingly traded the #1 overall pick last March, which had only happened twice in the previous 23 years. He had the guts to tear down the roster completely rather than try rebuilding on the fly. However, his willingness to be aggressive at the trade deadline has stood out the most, rather than guard his future draft picks like gold bullion. That was clear last year with the Chase Claypool trade, and it happened again when he sent a 2nd round pick to Washington for pass rusher Montez Sweat.
Many experts called the move categorically idiotic. Poles had no clue what he was doing. Teams that are 2-6 don’t trade valuable draft assets for veteran players. The Bears GM didn’t listen. He felt Sweat was the caliber of player his young defense sorely lacked—a “multiplier,” as he called it. His ability to impact the game in various ways would help improve everybody around him. It appears he was right. Sweat already has 10 pressures, including three hits on opposing quarterbacks in his first two games. Three other Bears had sacks against Carolina on Thursday night because of the attention he drew.
Peter King of NBC Sports believes the acquisition of Sweat is already a big win for the Bears, solving a problem they’ve had for over a year.
Montez Sweat is a big step in the right direction.
However, the Bears’ job is unfinished. Great defenses these days can’t get by with one good pass rusher. They often need two. Yannick Ngakoue is a free agent next year, and he isn’t the quality of player the Bears should be striving for. What they could really use is an interior pass rush presence. Justin Jones hasn’t played at the level they’d hoped when signing him last year. This defensive scheme is geared around the three-technique position. Thus far, Chicago hasn’t found one that can impact games like Akiem Hicks or Tommie Harris did.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
The upcoming 2024 off-season will be a massive opportunity to fill that void. Chicago has tons of salary cap space left to spend and two 1st round picks. It would be shocking if they didn’t find that second pass rush presence. This could end up making Montez Sweat even more effective than he already has been. It is a good reminder that while this might be a rebuild, it won’t stop Pole from trying to accelerate the clock. He wants to win as soon as possible. Sacrificing a 2nd round pick for a proven player in his prime felt like a favorable decision.
He’s been right so far.
Still need a DT which there will be some likely in FA next year. Also the 2 Edge guys that I’m looking at in the draft are
Laiatu Latu and Dallas Turner.
Still looking for a good 3-tech DT? I thought that’s what the plan was when they drafted both Dexter and Pickens? If so, drafting those two was a huge mistake, then, you can’t say Poles has been right so far.