People think the worst kind of GM in the NFL is one who can’t draft at all. This is not true. Teams who clearly have a general who sucks at his job tend to fire him after a short period of time. No, the worst kind of GM is the one who is okay at his job. He’s able to find an assortment of good players that keep the team just interesting enough to where people can’t convince themselves that he is terrible at his job. I am convinced this is the spot the Chicago Bears find themselves in with Ryan Poles.
When examining his work in the draft, the GM hasn’t been bad. He’s found some good players like Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Darnell Wright, and Gervon Dexter. Braxton Jones and Tyrique Stevenson have also flashed promise. Hopes are high for rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze. Yet one pressing question must be asked.
Success in the NFL is brought about by having blue-chip talent on the roster. It has been a long time since the Bears have drafted somebody like that. Kyle Long and Roquan Smith were probably the closest, but neither quite reached that level. Every successful era of Bears football was defined by a GM hitting a home run.
Sadly, Phil Emery and Ryan Pace couldn’t find such franchise-changers. If we’re being honest, neither has Poles.
That was working the trade with Carolina for the #1 overall pick, which landed the Bears a host of assets that have laid a strong foundation for their rebuild. Nobody disputes it benefitted the organization. The problem is he hasn’t done anything significant outside of that. Two of his biggest swings, the trade for Chase Claypool and the signing of Nate Davis, were disasters. For all his talk about building through the draft, four of the five best players on the team were either inherited from the previous regime or veterans acquired from other teams.
Again, Ryan Poles hasn’t been bad by the strictest definition. He also hasn’t been good. He’s been fine, and winning organizations would recognize that “fine” shouldn’t be acceptable. Good general managers tend to find at least one great player within their first three years. Howie Roseman (Eagles) scored Jason Kelce in his second year. Brandon Beane (Bills) got Josh Allen in his second. Les Snead (Rams) got Aaron Donald in his third year. Nobody has emerged in that vein for Poles, which is why it might be time to consider a change.
