We can praise or defame Ryan Poles all we want, but his success will ultimately depend on how his draft picks perform. During his first draft as the Chicago Bears' general manager, he found starting caliber players in Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, and Braxton Jones. He might have missed on Velus Jones Jr. and Dominique Robinson, but this year will be a do you belong on this team type of year for them.
Players who need to do the same from last year's draft class include Gervon Dexter, Tyrique Stevenson, Zacch Pickens, Roschon Johnson, and Tyler Scott. One could include Noah Sewell and Terrell Smith due to their draft stock, but those positions were heavily booked up the year they were drafted. Unfortunately for Scott, the receiver room is revamped, and he won't be a starter himself. At least he isn't planned to be.
Checking in on the Chicago Bears' 2023 draft class
A lot of people want to find hidden gems throughout the draft. Still, an above-average starter between rounds two and five is ideal. First-rounders like Darnell Wright need to be game-changers of some sort. That is why I am still confused as to why the Green Bay Packers drafted Jordan Morgan so early. Obviously, the draft isn't a perfect scenario, and players don't ascend just because of their draft status. Once you are on the team, the goal is to get better every day until you reach your peak.
Dexter is to become the missing 3-tech that Matt Eberflus loves to have in this defensive scheme. Zacch Pickens is the backup nose and hasn't seemingly made any progress toward becoming anything different. Tyler Scott is showing that he could have been a reliable number-three receiver, but that duty is now Rome Odunze's. Stevenson seems to be picking up where he left off, and Sewell and Smith are just there.
The talent on the roster is better, but that doesn't mean all of these players don't need to progress. What is a large concern for most Bear fans is exciting me—the offensive line. Darnell Wright has been getting clapped by Montez Sweat, and I love every bit of it. You see, Wright was one of the college's top pass-blocking right tackles. He had his ups and downs as a rookie, but he looked pretty solid as a run blocker. I believe Wright was so used to overpowering people in college that he didn't understand how to use technique well enough outside of recovering when he got beat.
Sweat is going to continue to eat up Wright, and that is a good thing. Bobbie Massie, Charles Leno, and Kyle Long praised Khalil Mack. They felt that Mack helped them take their game to the next level. Now, some could add that they still weren't very good, but imagine what they would have been without facing future HoF players in training camp. Wright needs to hang on and keep learning. Getting his butt kicked all summer should help him stop weaker pass rushers and some talented ones. I expect Wright's 51 pressures given up will be greatly improved this upcoming season.
The running back room is stacked. It seems Johnson keeps finding himself in a battle with teammates who have more ability than him in one or two areas. I have faith that Johnson will be a Chicago Bear for a long time. He might not ever be a starter, but he has a role. Johnson needs to prove that his jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none style of play is going to improve to the point where he becomes one of the league's to-do-everything types of back.
He doesn't have to be a starter, but if he can become the Chicago Bears' Ahad Bradshaw, that would be great. If Ryan Poles's second draft class can become something great, the Bears will be in business.