Ryan Poles has never made a first-round pick outside of the top ten in the NFL Draft. He has also never traded up in the first round. This year, one of those two things is going to change. Most mock drafts and experts have been operating under the assumption that Poles will finally make a selection at the end of the first round. But what if it goes the other way?
With the added value from the [DJ Moore trade](/chicago-bears-news/112030/report-dj-moore-traded-to-buffalo-bills), Poles now holds 1350 points of value on the Jimmy Johnson chart in his first three picks, which is the exact value of Pick #9 (currently held by the Kansas City Chiefs).
The Mock Draft Database has the two Ohio State defenders listed 7 and 8 (Downs and Styles respectively). Drafttek has David Bailey at 8 and Reuben Bain at 14. The incomparable Daniel Jeremiah has Bain at 7 and Downs at 8 and every offensive tackle at 10 or lower, suggesting that a desperate team or two might push one of them into range of the 9th overall selection. For that matter, with the Chiefs having signed Kenneth Walker III and the other teams having urgent needs, positional value could push the “best player in the draft” Jeremiyah Love down.
The argument could be made that this draft represents a chance for Poles to pick up one more true blue chip for Chicago thanks to the way he handled the glut at receiver.
For me, it’s hard to justify trading up. If he were to do it, I would want it to be for a premium position that slid because of the unique structure of this draft. If Mendoza, Reese, Bailey, Love, Mauigoa, Styles, Downs, and Tate are all the the first off the board and somehow Reuben Bain was available for trade at #9 because of his arm length, I would be hard pressed to criticize Poles for rolling the dice even if that’s not my first choice.
**_Now it’s your turn, though. What player would need to be available in your mind in order to justify Poles trading into the Top 10?_**