Bear Digest

The Ones Who Got Away from GM Ryan Poles and the Bears

Sometimes GMs make the wrong choice and they have fans and media to remind them about it. Here's a reminder.

Gene Chamberlain

Isiah Pacheco goes for a pass against the Bears. They drafted Trestan Ebner a round before Pacheco was selected.
Isiah Pacheco goes for a pass against the Bears. They drafted Trestan Ebner a round before Pacheco was selected. / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
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General managers can't beat themselves up over a failed draft pick or passing on someone who later pans out as a brilliant player.

They have too much work to do, and besides, they have the media and you to do this for them if they must be reminded of their errors.


Bears GM Ryan Poles has a reputation for drafting well, although it's based only on two drafts and he didn't even have a first-round pick in the first one.

Some players he took became instant starters immediately, like tackles Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones. Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker have shown signs of being a few of their better draft picks.

Then again, they might have been better off with someone else.

Here's who Poles could have had and didn't. In some players' cases, it's true for a lot of GMs.

If Not Kyler Gordon

The Bears took their slot cornerback No. 39 in Round 2 in 2022 and after a promising 2022 he blossomed in 2023 and has five career interceptions. If they really needed a cornerback there, Riq Woolen was available still in Round 5 and they could have traded back and taken someone else in Round 2. Woolen has three more interceptions than Gordon, although Gordon shows more versatility with an ability to excel in the slot. At that point in Round 2, they could have had wide receiver George Pickens, who has 115 catches for 1,941 yards.

Or they could have addressed a No. 2 tight end problem they've had for two years by taking Trey McBride, who has 110 catchesfor 1,090 yards for Arizona.

If Not Jaquan Brisker

Later in the round, they took Brisker and while he makes plays he has been beaten for 10 touchdown catches in two seasons and has passer ratings against of 98.6 and 110.6 according to Sportradar. He has two interceptions. A round later they could have drafted Kerby Joseph. The Lions safety has eight interceptions in two seasons. And if not safety, Pickens was still sitting there at No. 48 and didn't go until 52.

If Not Velus Jones Jr.

This is where it turns dark for Poles. OK, he didn't take Pickens. But Jones? He muffed away two games as a rookie on punt return and last year did a circle misjudging a wide-open pass in the end zone at New Orleans, fell to the ground, had the ball land in his lap and still dropped it.

If they really needed a receiver then, David Bell was still there and has 38 catches for 381 yards with three TDs. Green Bay's Romeo Doubs was available for another round and a half and has 101 catches for 1,099 yards and 11 TDs. Buffalo's Khalil Shakir has 49 catches for 772 yards and three TDs and went in Round 5.

Who says it had to be a receiver. Running backs Rachaad White (1,471 yards rushing, 839 receiving), Brian Robinson (1,530 yards rushing, 428 yards receiving) were there in Round 3 and Dameon Pierce (1,355 rushing, 266 receiving) was there a round later. They would have been better options at that position than the player the Bears took later at that spot.

If Not Dominique Robinson

The Bears drafted starting left tackle Braxton Jones in Round 5 and it was a steal to get a starting left tackle this late. He had his flaws as a rookie but got the job done.

The other fifth-rounder was Robinson, a former receiver turned edge rusher and he has two sacks in two years while going inactive for a bunch of 2023 after Montez Sweat was acquired.

Five picks later they could have drafted Kingsley Enagbare, who has five sacks for the Packers. That late in the draft you can't be too picky and James Houston is only about 240 pounds. He seems less suited to the Bears' scheme, but with eight sacks as a rookie for the Lions they probably would have found a way to make it work. And he was available much later than Robinson went, all the way at the back of Round 6.

If Not Zachary Thomas

They took two offensive linemen who would become guards at the end of this draft. One in sixth round was Zachary Thomas who was cut and put on the practice squad and signed away by the Rams. tackle/guard Jamaree Salyer was still available.

At 6-4, 325, he might not have fit the Bears' offense well but then again, the Rams run a similar scheme and found a way to make it work for 31 starts. For that matter Cade Mays of the Panthers has seven starts and has contributed and is about the size of Salyer. He was taken for spots after Salyer.

If Not Trestan Ebner

The Bears cut Ebner and he's not in football. If they had to have a back there, this guy taken a round later in Round 7 wasn't too bad of an option.

Isaiah Pacheco has two rings and 1,765 yards rushing with 374 yards receiving to prove it.

If Not Ja'Tyre Carter

Round seven is a crap shoot and the Bears took Carter, punter Trenton Gill and safet Elijah Hicks. They seem to like Carter, though he hasn't played much. Gill has been so-so. Hick played some valuable minutes the last two years because of all of Eddie Jackson's injuries.

Then again, they not only could have taken Pacheco in this round, but just like everyone else in the league except San Francisco, they passed on Mr. Irrelevant, quarterback Brock Purdy. Somehow, it seems they could have gotten more out of Purdy than they did out of Nathan Peterman and Trevor Siemian. Maybe they'd have gotten more out of him than out of Justin Fields.

If Not Gervon Dexter

In 2023, they couldn't complain about the performance of tackle Darnell Wright. It wasn't spectacular, but for a rookie at tackle it was solid. However, in Round 2 they took defensive tackle Gervon Dexter at No. 53. Later they took Zacch Pickens at the same position in Round 3. And while Dexter shows some promise as a pass rusher, after both of those two were gone in Round 3 they could have taken Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner, who led all rookies in sacks with nine.

For that matter, they could have solved some of their edge rush problems in that round, too, by taking YaYa Diaby, who had 7 1/2 sacks for the Buccaneers, and Byron Young, who had eight sacks for the Rams.

They didn't even have take a defensive lineman. Receiver Tank Dell was there to take and he had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven TDs for Houston. They could have used Dell when Chase Claypool was Claypooling around and winding up in Miami. Josh Downs got drafted that round, too, and had 68 catches for 771 yards for the Dolphins.

If Not Roschon Johnson

There's no arguing Johnson at the 115th pick if you had to have a back and passed on

De'Von Achane (103 rushes, 800 yards, 8 TDs) like the Bears did in Round 3. There were no backs with more rushing yards than Johnson the rest of the draft.

If Not Tyler Scott

They took Scott at the end of Round 4 and he made a few catches but had some drops. They made another pick in Round 5 of linebacker Noah Sewell, who played all special teams last year.

Instead of Scott, or even Sewell, there was this guy at the end of that fifth round named Puka Nacua who had a nice year for himself, if you like 105 catches, 1,486 yards, six TDs, and a rookie of the year trophy. And the Bears apparently felt they needed a receiver in that part of Day 3 because they took Scott 44 picks ahead of him.

Dontayvian Wicks had 20 more catches than Scott for Green Bay and the Bears actually had him in the building for a visit during the top 30s.

They did draft backup cornerback Terell Smith No. 165 in that round, too, and they really like his abilities for four starts and spot duty last season. Probably they would have liked Nacua's 1,486 receiving yards better.

If Not Travis Bell

In Round 7 they made two picks, defensive tackle Travis Bell, who wound up on the practice squad right away and out of town to Atlanta, then Tennessee. The other was safety Kendall Williamson, also cut, put on the practice squad but still on it.

He was taken next to last in the draft. Mr. Irrelevant, Desjuan Johnson of the Rams, actually did better than the first pick of the round, Bell, as he had two sacks in limited duty.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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