Chicago Bears: Ryan Poles’ Plan Faces Big Test This Weekend

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has been disciplined in his approach to the rebuild. This weekend that plan faces a bit test.

Ever since Ryan Poles took over as the general manager Ryan Poles he showed that he has a plan to rebuild the Chicago Bears roster. Despite having some fans frustrated with his approach, he’s been disciplined and stuck to his plan.

In this way, Poles is different from many of the other Bears general managers. It seems that they fell to public demand and changed their approach to the roster. Ryan Pace said he would draft a quarterback in every draft so he could find the right one. Turns out he only picked Mitchell Trubisky in 2017 and Justin Fields in 2021.

Trubisky was a polarizing pick. Pace gave up a ton of assets to move up one spot to grab him. He did the same to move up nine spots to pick up Fields.

Pace also made some high-profile trades, like picking up Khalil Mack, that excited the fanbase but didn’t help the roster. Picking up a star or two but neglecting the rest of the roster is a recipe for disaster.

Pace, as well as a number of other former general managers, neglected the offensive line. As a result, the offense has struggled for the better part of a decade. Pace might have found the franchise quarterback in Fields but by ignoring the rest of the roster he’ll never get a firsthand chance to see Fields develop and become a star.

Now it is Poles’ chance to stick to his word

Poles has done a good job of sticking to his plan…so far. At the NFL Draft this weekend, his plan gets an important test. Most people think that he should do what he can to help Fields. So far this offseason, he has done that. He traded the number one pick and, among a number of draft picks, he also picked up wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Additionally, Poles acquired tight end Robert Tonyan, running back Travis Homer, and offensive guard Nate Davis, all to help Fields.

One area that wasn’t addressed in free agency is the right tackle spot. Last season, there were a number of linemen who lined up there but weren’t effective. Now the feeling is that he should pick up a tackle with the ninth pick of the draft.

There are others who feel that Poles should go with defense and build it up. Again, this is something that previous general managers did. They built up the defense, something that the Bears are historically known for.

However, it comes at the cost of the offense.

There were plenty of seasons in which the Chicago Bears defense played its heart out only to see the offense squander the work, resulting in frustrating losses. Poles wants to change that.

Does Poles stick to his plan or do circumstances change it?

There could be some drama in store for the Bears in the draft. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter made multiple visits with Poles. If he and, say, Paris Johnson Jr., an offensive tackle, are both available, does Poles stick with the plan of helping Fields?

Poles wants to build the roster differently. He saw how the other general managers failed and he wants to do it the right way. If he wants to do that, he has to continue to show his discipline and stick to his plan.

Poles knew going into the 2022 season things would be rough. He had to make some sacrifices to cut payroll and had to let popular players go. The team needed to go through it, though, to break through. This is what he said about it recently.

I knew we were going to have to go through it and take it on the chin if we were going to do it right. We could have put a Band-Aid on things and acted like it was cool and then paid for it later, and I didn’t want to do that.

Poles shows an understanding of what happened at Halas Hall that helped turn the Chicago Bears into an irrelevant franchise. He wants to reverse things and build a team that contends year in and year out.

We’ll find out in just a few days how Poles continues his plan. Does he stay disciplined and stick to his plan, or does he give in to the fans’ desire and change things up?