Opening Day for our baseball teams. A late-season charge to get the mediocre Bulls closer to the play in. And Bears offseason moves.
The three pillars of hope that fuels the Chicago sports fan.
We’re all guilty in some way, shape or form of turning hope into overhype. When you’re thirsty, you’ll drink anything.
Keeping with the Opening Day/baseball theme, dare I say Ryan Poles and the Bears organization are pitching an offseason perfect game? Yes, it’s only the sixth inning and the toughest part is finishing the job in the late innings — in this case, the NFL draft.
Yes, I’ll reiterate that the only true way to judge offseason success is by winning games — but let’s recap how Poles is trying to rebuild his approval rating.
The Bears hired the most desirable head coaching prospect in this year’s cycle, overcoming Tom Brady’s flirting toward Ben Johnson. Kevin Warren somehow convinced George McCaskey to spare no expense in the search and for Johnson’s coaching staff. And the Bears added at least four starters with trades and free agency with the offensive line now looking like a strength.
Now it’s time for Poles to close.
Many are hoping that the addition of Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will help with a new set of eyes and just being smarter than Matt Eberflus and his failed offensive coordinators.
Here’s a list of the good, the bad and the ugly from Poles’ three drafts and lessons to be learned.
The good:
1. Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze
Some of you will say that you’d rather have Jayden Daniels and an offensive lineman with last year’s first and ninth picks overall. I still believe this will be a home run first round in future years and both will benefit from Johnson’s tutelage.
2. Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker
While many of us wanted a wide receiver with Poles’ first two picks as GM, Poles leaned on his best player available grades and drafted two of the Bears’ most talented players.
3. Gervon Dexter
This is exactly the type of player Poles needs more of with picks 39 and 41 next month. Dexter has produced good numbers in his first couple of years with a ceiling of a Pro Bowl player.
The bad:
1. Oh-for-third round
Poles has whiffed three straight years with Velus Jones, Zacch Pickens and Kiran Amagadjie. Jones never produced in six years of college, yet he became Poles’ first skill position draftee. The Bears compounded the mistake by keeping him far too long.
2. Drafting two punters in three years
Poles simply got too cute with a team that needed more of everything. Tory Taylor in the fourth round and Trenton Gill in the seventh round in a span of three years is wasting picks.
3. Trading picks for non-solutions
Poles sent a sixth-round pick to Miami for Dan Feeney, a fifth-round pick to Buffalo for the injured Ryan Bates, and a sixth-round pick for Darrell Taylor. Feeney and Bates started a combined three games in their Bears careers while Taylor is already gone after just a three-sack season.
The Ugly:
1. Chase Claypool
As noted above, while Poles isn’t scared to take swings by trading picks, there is no bigger fail than giving up the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 draft on one of the biggest busts in Bears history.
2. Passing on Jalen Carter
There’s a pocket of Bears fans that still rationalize this move wasn’t all that bad, and then there’s reality.
While Darnell Wright is an ascending player, Carter is one of the true game wreckers in the NFL. Yes, there were red flags during the draft process, but after getting a haul for the first overall pick in 2023, Carter was less of a risk as the most talented player in the draft at ninth. The Bears passed, fearing a bad culture, yet Poles built a team that was full of locker room lawyers who couldn’t prevent a 10-game losing streak.
• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.
Trading a high draft pick for receiver Chase Claypool has been one of Bears GM Ryan Poles’ worst moves. Associated Press