As early as the 3rd round, Ryan Poles had a clear vision of how he saw things going. The Chicago Bears would take an offensive or defensive lineman at #75 overall. From there, they hoped they could circle back in the 4th to grab Iowa punter Tory Taylor. After that, he wanted to place calls to teams in the 5th round who might be interested in future draft capital to allow the Bears back into the draft for a shot at Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker. Things unfolded as expected. They took Yale tackle Kiran Amegadjie at #75 and snagged Taylor at #122 in the 4th.
The tricky part was finding a trade partner to get into the 5th round. Chicago was placing calls to multiple teams, hoping to get a bite. Poles was willing to offer a future 4th round pick and future 6th round pick to get a deal done. However, he was hoping only a 4th would be necessary. As the round unfolded, Poles searched for a taker but couldn’t find one. The fear that Booker might go with each passing moment was there. It was then an unlikely hero saved the day. Co-director of player personnel Jeff King swindled the Buffalo Bills for the Bears’ original 5th round pick they gave up for Ryan Bates.
Chicago only gave up the future 4th to make it happen, and Booker was a Bear. The drama was caught on the latest episode of 1920 Football Drive.
Poles has repeatedly stated how vital his scouts and front office were to making this draft happen. King was also instrumental in convincing the GM that the New York Giants would take LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers at #6 overall, not Rome Odunze. That eased Poles’ fears of losing out on the Washington star, ensuring he wouldn’t get overly aggressive trying to move up for him. King’s crafty pitch to Buffalo then nabbed a high-upside pass rusher for the defense. It is becoming easier to see why the man got looks for a GM position this off-season.
If Austin Booker matures into the type of pass rusher the Bears envision, King will be viewed as one of the essential pieces who made it happen. This serves as a good reminder of why Poles wisely leans on his staff to help make things happen. Some GMs prefer to do everything themselves, controlling all of the action through their phones. Not Poles. He is unselfish enough to recognize he has capable people around him with the same interests: making the Chicago Bears better.
