The Chicago Bears started 0-2 and now are 3-16 since Ryan Poles has inherited them. The first year was excused as he reset the roster, but this is what he put together after two offseasons and two drafts. There are reasons to buy into a long-term plan and wait for him to execute. There are also enough concerns to make you wonder if Ryan Poles has this ship on the right track or not.
3. Ryan Poles prioritized the wrong positions for the Chicago Bears
One of the huge questions with Ryan Poles is why he has been prioritizing the wrong positions. Poles is a former lineman, and the thought was that he would build up the trenches. The defense has been built backward. The Chicago Bears' first two draft picks were Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker.
Their talent aside, it is tough to build around a slot cornerback and a box safety. With his big money in free agency, the big spending was on Tremaine Edmunds. A linebacker is great, but he needs a strong defensive line. When the high draft picks are on the secondary, it seems like a lot of players who are not on the football with all of the capital Poles had.
Poles also paid TJ Edwards, who has been a disappointment for two weeks probably because he is not playing behind the Eagles' defensive line this year.
What is so funny about paying Edmunds and Edwards is that Poles also added Jack Sanborn as a UDFA, and he drafted Noah Sewell in round five. When you consider the head coach was a former linebacker's coach, maybe he could work with less investment in this unit to have talent in the areas he did not coach specifically.
These two would have been perfectly fine as the starting duo; they would have cost nothing, and the team would have had $20M or more to spend on the defensive line.
Instead, the Bears have quality backups to highly paid starters, and they signed their best pass rusher after training camp started. He is building the team backward, which is concerning.