The Chicago Bears reached 2-2 at the bye week despite some dangerous brushes with death along the way. Most alarming by far has been the play of their defense. After ranking 13th in points allowed last season, they were expected to be at least credible. Instead, they’re 25th this year. Much of that is due to two factors. They have the league’s worst run defense, and even more worringly, its fifth-worst pass rush. Chicago has five sacks in four games. Everything about this situation can be attributed to the poor construction of their defensive line, which falls squarely at the feet of GM Ryan Poles.
One could drone on about various reasons for this, but let’s get into the numbers. Here is every defensive lineman Poles has drafted since taking over, along with their production to date.
2022 – Dominique Robinson – 3 sacks
2023 – Gervon Dexter – 8.5 sacks
2023 – Zacch Pickens – 1.5 sacks
2023 – Travis Bell – 0 sacks
2024 – Austin Booker – 1.5 sacks
2025 – Shemar Turner – 0 sacks
Ready for the real pain? This group has combined for 14.5 sacks. Nick Bonitto, whom Poles passed on twice in 2022, has 27.5. Tuli Tuipulotu, who went one spot after Dexter in 2023, has 17. Byron Young, whom the Bears passed on in favor of Pickens, has 20.5. Yet his solutions to this problem were Dayo Odeyingbo, whom Indianapolis willingly let go, and Turner, who was never a prolific rusher for Texas A&M.
Ryan Poles never learned his lessons in Kansas City.
During his time as a scout for the Chiefs, they had a strong reputation for drafting pass rushers. Justin Houston, Dee Ford, and Chris Jones were all added during his time there. One would think he’d have a good gauge on what to look for. Yet his process has never reflected this. Ryan Poles has a terrible habit of focusing less on proven production and more on physical traits. None of the names he’s drafted had a single season in college where they had 10 or more sacks. In fact, the Bears haven’t done that as an organization since 2010, when they selected Corey Wootton out of Northwestern.
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Poles is directly responsible for the maddening situation the Bears are in. He had several opportunities to invigorate their pass rush over the past four offseasons. Each and every one was wasted due to misplaced priorities or poor scouting. Even his emergency option, Montez Sweat, has been disappointing since last season. It feels like the only way out of this mess is with an early attack in next year’s draft. It would mark the first time in nine years the Bears will have taken a pass rusher in the 1st round. If it doesn’t happen, Poles will only leave this team open to more disappointment.