Why Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles did not trade down earlier

We knew that the Chicago Bears were going to trade down at some point in the 2022 NFL Draft. While it took until day three, Ryan Poles did make the most out of it by turning the class into an 11-man group when it was supposed to be just six.

The only criticism that you could possibly give from this approach is the question of why he did not do this sooner? The draft is a crapshoot, and the better teams typically are better because they have more picks. Poles did that, but all of his picks came on day three when you are taking shots.

Day two is typically the meat of the draft and a time when you can find legitimate starters. The Bears had three picks and kept all three. There is an argument that trading down from any of those three spots is more valuable, and also could have given the Bears a few more top 100 shots.

Chicago Bears stuck with best player available

However, Ryan Poles answered questions of why he did not trade down more by saying that the board broke to where they had to take the best players available.

“It would have taken something crazy for me, they were at a value that we felt comfortable with so nothing made sense,” said Poles.

This goes back to the stance that Poles was not drafting for need, he was taking the best players available. They clearly had big grades on Gordon and Brisker. They did not see anyone in a range near them and they were far and away the best players on their board.

It is great to trade back, especially when you have a group of players lumped together. However, if one player stands out and is in the top of the tier alone, it is much harder to pass that by. Most fans would agree that while they do not love the positions, it is hard to say that the players were not the best available at the time they were drafted.

Ryan Poles could not believe that Kyler Gordon was around. He likely had him as a first-round player. Whether it works or not, we will see, but the process at least makes sense.