With no first-round draft picks and just three picks inside the top 71, Chicago Bears first-year GM Ryan Poles is without much draft capital to re-build this Bears roster. During his tenure as Bears GM, Ryan Pace was very aggressive in building the team’s roster. If he wanted a player in the draft or in the NFL trading period, he was never scared to trade away current or future draft capital to acquire him.
Forced to work with the little draft capital Ryan Pace has left him, Ryan Poles will be very tight on draft picks come April. Despite having no first-round pick, Chicago’s two second-round picks (39, and 48 (Chargers)) give them a chance to add a couple of talented young players to this roster. With so many gaping holes to fill on this rebuilding roster, hitting on these Day 2 picks will be very important for the future of this iconic Bears franchise.
Ryan Poles has his work cut out for him if he wants to fix the Chicago Bears
Offensively, the Bears and first-year OC Luke Getsy (former Packers QB Coach) will be looking to unlock the potential of 2nd year QB Justin Fields. Looking for more speed at WR, and more athleticism/toughness on the offensive line, Ryan Poles has several starting positions to fill around Fields. Looking to run the ball more and utilize the outside run/play-action passing game, Getsy will be looking for WRs who are willing and physical blockers in the run game.
In his 4 seasons as Colts defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus’s defense never ranked outside of the top 10 in total defense or total turnovers. With “Flus” bringing over nearly his entire staff (besides DL coach Brian Baker) with him from Indy, the Bears defense is seemingly in good hands. There are some holes at SS, CB, and “Sam Linebacker”, but the defense still has star players at all 3 levels.
Signing former Raiders LB Nicholas Morrow to a one-year $5 million dollar deal in free agency, Poles got Eberflus an experienced LB who can play the “Will” or “Mike” LB in this 4-3 defense. During the Colts 2021 season, the “Sam” LB played just 19% of snaps. With Eberflus leaning heavily on his Dime “subpackage”, the Bears will frequently be subbing out their “Sam” LB for “nickel” or slot CB.
With the defense in Matt Eberflus’ hands, I think the Bears should focus heavily on offense during Day 2 of the draft. Adding playmakers and offensive linemen around Justin Fields must be the top priority for Poles and Eberflus. If Fields is able to make the “year-two jump” that we’ve seen from other talented young QBs around the league, it would be the greatest thing to ever happen to Chicago sports.
Here are three players I think Ryan Poles should target in next month’s NFL Draft.