5 ways Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles has mismanged the offensive line

Justin Fields has issues that deserve criticism in their own right, but the Chicago Bears General Manager inherited Fields; he did not draft him. In the eyes of the ownership group, this will spare Ryan Poles his job when the team continues to struggle this season. However, beyond quarterback, there are reasons to wonder if Poles knows how to build a winning team.

He has not built a strong offensive line despite being a former lineman. Some can say he caught tough breaks, but Poles has also done a poor job of building this unit.

5. Ryan Poles is not investing draft capital in the Chicago Bears offensive line

As we noted with Poles experience on the line, you thought maybe he would go above and beyond to build up this unit. So far, he has done the minimum needed. In his first free agency, he had to clear the books, sure. However, he spent his first three picks on skill players with Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Velus Jones.

Briser is fine, but he is a box safety. Jones is a bust, and Gordon is hurt after failing on the outside. Now, he is just the slot when healthy. The Chicago Bears passed up on Cam Jurgens, who is starting for the Eagles, Josh Ezeudu, who has started for the Giants, and Luke Goedeke, who just shut down DeMarcus Walker with the Bucs.

None of these teams would trade those assets for Kyler Gordon now. Abe Lucas, a starting right tackle for the Seattle Seahawks coming off a great rookie season, went one pick after Velus Jones. Bernhard Rainmann, who starts for the Colts, and Dylan Parham who starts for the Raiders went shortly after Jones.

Even when Ryan Poles took swings late in the draft, he took Zach Thomas, who is out of the NFL, over Jamaree Salyer, a starter for the Chargers. We all know about John Michael-Schmitz being passed over, and the team added luxuries such as Tyler Scott, Roschon Johnson, and Noah Sewell over potential depth for the offensive line.

It is okay to swing and miss, but adding a fifth linebacker over offensive line depth seems crazy. No wonder the line is so thin already.