5 free agents the Chicago Bears must sign who match Ryan Poles’ vision

Chicago Bears free agent target: Ereck Flowers, OG

The Chicago Bears need help at the offensive guard spot now that the Buffalo Bills decided to match Ryan Bates’ offer. With not a lot of options available, one guy who stands out and fits the vision of bringing in younger players is Ereck Flowers. When we look at these players, there is one thing that stands out that may be working against them though. All three of them were former first-round draft picks.

If we look at the players that Ryan Poles has signed to the roster at this point, most are either later-round draft picks or undrafted free agents. There’s nothing wrong with that. Plenty of late-round picks become stars in the NFL. The same can be said about undrafted free agents. However, it does appear that Poles has a soft spot for targeting guys he thinks can develop, flourish and are hungry. Guys who want to prove something despite not necessarily being as talented.

At this point, I hope that Poles can look past the fact these guys came out of the first round. They all still have plenty to prove and only Xavier Rhodes is above the age of 28. When it comes to Ereck Flowers, he has not lived up to his draft hype. Flowers was drafted ninth overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He was drafted as a left tackle and that did not go over well at all. However, since shifting inside to guard, he has become an average guard in the NFL. At this point, that’s all fans can expect from free agency.

Flowers has been better known for his run-blocking ability, but last year he was sixth in the NFL in pass block win rate. Flowers is still only 27 (nearly 28) despite being in the league for six years. If we look at his career, it’s not great. He has flaws. He’s even made a decent amount of money. That said, he was released by the Commanders which means signing him now doesn’t affect the compensatory formula. Plus, he should cost too much from a salary perspective.