Just one year ago, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles found himself on the hot seat with fans, but now he is highly regarded as one of the best in the NFL.
Poles has gotten most of his praise for the work he did in the 2025 draft class, which featured multiple players becoming impactful from the jump. Bleacher Report writer Brent Sobleski gave the Bears the highest grade, an A, with only two other teams getting that high a mark.
"The Chicago Bears finally experienced a significant turnaround, with their latest rookie class playing a large part. Obviously, Caleb Williams' development in his second year under the current tutelage of Ben Johnson was the biggest factor. Still, let's not overlook how Chicago's draft investments went a long way toward helping the Bears win their first NFC North title since the 2018 campaign."
Ryan Poles struck gold in 2025 NFL Draft
The highlight of the class was first-round pick Colston Loveland, who started out looking like a bust, but turned on the jets starting in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He ended up leading the team in receptions (58), receiving yards (713), and tied in touchdowns (six).
Next up were two of their second-round picks in Luther Burden and Ozzy Trapilo. Burden finished fourth on the team in receiving yards with 652 and two touchdowns as he became an impact player late in the season when Rome Odunze was hurt. Trapilo didn't really get to emerge until November when he took over for the injured Theo Benedet at left tackle, but never lost the job as he became the best player at the position.
It was all closed out with the most surprising performance from the draft class in seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai. While Bears fans knew he might be able to make an impact, no one could have imagined Monangai going for 783 yards and five touchdowns in his first season.
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Poles hit so many home runs in the draft that it has set up the Bears with future success because of how good they were.