Ryan Poles has already explained multiple times since April what led him to the decision to draft Caleb Williams #1 overall. It was for a variety of reasons. Of course, the talent was obvious. Williams had a rare blend of arm strength, accuracy, and mobility. Beyond that, he had a natural instinct for making plays out of structure few quarterbacks possess. Poles also noted a certain poise and moxy under the lights, allowing him to perform at a high level despite high expectations. Perhaps most importantly, Williams demonstrated resilience in the face of frustrating setbacks during a difficult 2023 season.
What people haven’t seen is Poles break down some actual film of the young quarterback to help illustrate what he saw during the evaluation process. The Bears GM provided fans the rare opportunity during an interview with Cynthia Frelund of NFL Network.
This is another great example of how accessible Poles is as a general manager. Ryan Pace never would’ve done something like this. Poles saw no reason to hide his reasons for loving Williams. They are certainly valid ones. Nobody can say for sure if he’ll be a success, but the building blocks are there.
Everyone before him seems to have failed to handle the quarterback issue the wrong way. Jerry Angelo settled for Rex Grossman right before a two-year stretch of drafts that yielded Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Aaron Rodgers. Then he gave up a bounty of picks for a Hail Mary on Jay Cutler. Phil Emery doubled down by handing Cutler a lucrative extension he frankly hadn’t earned. Pace badly mishandled the evaluation process in 2017, falling in love with Mitch Trubisky without giving more serious consideration to Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. Then, he compounded that mistake by giving away more assets for Justin Fields.
From the outset, Ryan Poles refused to rush the process. He disassembled the roster and worked hard to rebuild it. He had the opportunity to get his quarterback in 2023 with the #1 pick. However, he knew the roster wasn’t ready to receive one. So, he traded it for assets. Those became D.J. Moore, Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, Williams, and Montez Sweat. This is the best situation a young quarterback has arguably ever walked into. If he lives up to his draft projections, they may soon build statues of Poles down Michigan Avenue.
