On Thursday, the Chicago Bears declared themselves all-in by acquiring star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans. They are sending first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, along with a 2027 fourth-rounder, to Tennessee in the deal. With Simmons, they're also getting a 2028 fifth-round pick in the trade.
The draft is often a crapshoot. At the expense of their next two first-round picks, the Bears are choosing a known quantity in Simmons. While some key offensive players are on cheaper contracts, there's a proverbial "Super Bowl window" to be maximized. General manager Ryan Poles chose to proactively heat up that particular iron, rather than striking after it gets hot.
For years, the Los Angeles Rams have consistently been all-in to try to win the Super Bowl. General manager Les Snead offered a tagline for that mentality, "(bleep) them picks", and other efforts to aggressively add notable players still get compared to it.
Ryan Poles knows Jeffery Simmons trade will test him in a unique way
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Poles specifically addressed that aforementioned all-in slogan.
"One thing I wanna hit. I know it’s kind of a joke that goes around, but ‘F- them picks’ is like a big thing", Poles said, via CHGO. "That’s really not what we’re about. I know it took a lot to get this done. But, we absolutely believe that the draft and bringing in young talent is a way that you sustain success around here. I’m challenging myself and our crew that for the picks that we do have, we have to hit.”
"We have to be great with our undrafted free agent process. And whatever tier of free agency we’re working in, which we’ll have constraints, we have to hit there, too.”
Every team has misses in the draft, but unearthing difference makers later in the proceedings is now critically important for the Bears over the next two drafts.
As highlighted by Kole Noble of AtoZ Sports, Poles' track record on Day 2 and Day 3 of the draft is not stellar. Out of 30 non-first-round picks from 2022-2025, 13 are still on the team, and five aren't currently starters. As a positive trend, five of the 13 are from the 2025 draft class, and three of them look to be long-term fixtures on the team.
Read more: Jeffery Simmons' arrival leaves Shemar Turner's future with Bears in limbo
Poles, as expected, knows the residual consequences of giving up his next two first-round picks for a proven stud like Simmons. There will be no excuses for failing to keep the pipeline of young talent flowing over the next two drafts, and now there's less margin for error to get that done.
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