Chicago Bears GM made intentions on drafting Peter Skoronski clear

The debate over Peter Skoronski to the Chicago Bears went on for a while during the NFL draft season. Now that the 2023 NFL draft is over, and we know that the Bears were not as high on Skoronski as some may think, we are finding out just how clear it is that the team did not have interest in Skoronski.

Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles had no interest in Peter Skoronski

The Chicago Bears' interest in Skoronski started to get clear when the team actually had a clip from a behind-the-scenes video get leaked. The clip had a list of traits that the team values highly for each position, with arm length being second on their tackle list. Considering Skoronski would be an outlier for short arm length in the NFL, it was pretty clear to see that the team was viewing him more as a guard.

Beyond that, it also sounds like almost all of the attention that they gave Skoronski was more of a smoke screen than anything. Dan Pompei of the Athletic is a family friend and followed his pre-draft meetings.

Pompei notes that the Bears did not meet with Skoronski formally at the NFL Combine. Also, while Ryan Poles was at the Northwestern Pro day, he was watching from afar. The article says that Chris Morgan met with him and they talked, but not Ryan Poles.

The Chicago Bears also used a pre-draft visit on Skoronski, but the caveat is that a local prospect does not count against the 30 that teams have. So, the Bears got a free look at Skoronski in their building. What is notable is that Poles did not even meet with Skoronski when he was in the building.

Considering it was a local visit, Poles was either preparing for a visit he scheduled, or he just brought Skoronski in so that teams thought he was in play for them at pick nine.

So, this seems to be a strong indication of what the team thought of Skoronski. On the flip side, the interaction with Darnell Wright is notable. Luke Getsy coached him at the Senior Bowl, and he met with Ryan Poles down there.

The Chicago Bears scheduled a pre-draft visit with him, so Poles was present for this, and it was not just a local visit. Beyond that, Poles went to Tennessee to work him out, something he said finalized the decision.

Maybe Skoronski was an easy evaluation and Poles did not need to get to know him. However, he went above and beyond to discuss how meeting with Wright and getting to know the person is what sold him on the pick.

The fact that he hardly interacted with Skoronski shows you that he was hardly even in the discussion with that pick and that they were meeting and spending time with other players who could have been debated at pick nine instead of Darnell Wright. Even if the Chicago Bears soured on Wright, it is hard to think that they ever would have taken Peter Skoronski.