The Chicago Bears have been hoping to lean on a draft-and-develop approach with Ryan Poles as their general manager. However, so far, Poles has not been able to keep the coaching staff or the players' trajectory going long enough to establish a true core of drafted players.
While this did not completely change, you could start to see things shift under Ben Johnson. Poles was the first to admit that it was the combination of the coaching staff and the front office that made things look smoother.
"Drafting and developing, that’s the ultimate collaboration between the front office and coaching staff," Poles said via 670 The Score's Chris Emma. "You could really see it coming to life this year."
Ryan Poles applauds Ben Johnson for helping his draft history
With Matt Eberflus, Poles thought he was putting decent pieces in front of him; they were just not being used as they should have been. With Ben Johnson, it appears that he is excited about what is going to happen with his draft picks.
Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon will both be free agents, and both are the key pieces from the first draft for Poles. Both had big moments in the playoffs, and Brisker may have guaranteed an extension with his play.
Darnell Wright was a breakout and will sign an extension this offseason. Both Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze took big strides after disappointing rookie seasons, and Colston Loveland and Luther Burden appear to be core pieces on the roster moving forward.
That does not mention Ozzy Trapilo and Kyle Monangai, who had legitimate roles as rookies. A lot of these players listed as the core of the roster were either not here or not living up to expectations before Johnson came to town. For that, Poles have to be thankful.
Poles have to be better, too. Very few of his picks after the first one or two from the class have panned out, and he has some ugly misses, such as Velus Jones and Zacch Pickens. Even this year, Shemar Turner and Ruben Hyppolite II look like rough picks.
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The staff having a full year to show Poles what they like and having an entire offseason to evaluate players together may give the next draft class even more advantages. For now, Bears fans have to be optimistic, even if they realize Poles will have his swings and misses.