As a flurry of deals by new grandmaster Ryan Poles gave the Chicago Bears more fluctuations in the NFL Draft – Reading Eagle

At one point on Saturday, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles turned from a patient observer to the NFL’s call-up insane broker on trades.

The Poles knew that the depth of this year’s conscription class coincided with the massive holes in his list. He knew of the limited capital he had to work with, and was determined to do something about it.

The meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers unfolded early, and the Bears insisted on an election in the sixth round of 2023 for two late swings in the 7th round on Saturday night.

A little later Buffalo Bills with interest called in the first of two Bears elections in the 5th round. The deal is done. The Poles happily retreated to 20 places and took an extra sixth.

Then the Houston Texans called. Another deal. Again the Bears retreated from the 5th round draft order, adding more choices.

The next trade was made with the Cincinnati Bengals.

By 2 p.m., Poles had turned the three Saturday elections he had woken up with into eight elections.

The Bears ’rough hive was so bustling with a flurry of deals and then a wave of dives that local spy Breck Ackley was dizzy and excited.

“Fast and furious,” Ackley said. “There for a minute it was a bit like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’

No wonder the Poles entered his press conference after the draft just before 19:00 with a look of fatigue and satiety.

“I’m exhausted,” he said.

Understandably after the Poles slept in Halas Hall on Friday night and then selected eight new beginners for 3 hours 36 minutes on Saturday afternoon to finish it off Draft class for 11 players.

In all, the new GM Bear has captured four offensive linemen, including an offensive battle from South Utah’s Braxton Jones and Doug Kramer Central from Illinois through Hinsdale Central.

The Poles have also found two defensive players for new coach Matt Eberflus, including the promising but ultra-rough chess player Domonic Robinson of Miami, Ohio, who just three years ago was a broad host in the Red Hawks program. Now Robinson will try to become a respected pass-rascher in a franchise with a rich defensive history.

After the Bears were left without an election in the first and fourth rounds, eight of their elections were elected in the last 100 Saturday elections. It would therefore be reckless and extremely careless to predict this as a class that will change the winding direction of the franchise.

But in the world of conscription with alarming success throughout the league the Poles felt pleased that he had given himself the opportunity to make more swings.

“Anytime you have more ammunition,” he said, “the better in terms of getting hits. It was a process of thought. “

Who knows what that really means? We all know old John Woodenism: “Never take activity for achievement.” And on the first day of May 2022, it is impossible to predict whether a guy like offensive liner South Liner Ja’Tyre Carter will one day launch for the Bears or he will just disappear like many of the prospects of Day 3 ahead of him.

Likewise, will Baylor, who ran back, Treston Ebner quickly become a significant participant as an offensive weapon that captures changes in pace, and a specialist in return? Or will he one day become just another big shrug like the other Day 3 backers chosen by the Bears over the last decade? (Remember Ka’Dim Kerry, Jeremy Langford and Carit White?)

Clearly, the Poles would like him to have a crystal ball in Halas Hall to give long-term answers to how many of the 11 elections from his first draft will ultimately be considered hits. But alas…

“I would like to know tomorrow,” said the Poles. “But it will take a year or two to see who is evolving, who is popping up really fast, who will need some time.”

And, of course, who is gone in four months.

Or even a year later. Or two.

As a former line forward, the Poles ’attempt to add athleticism and resilience to the line will not happen immediately. But with four linemen selected on Saturday, the new GM feels it has taken a step in the right direction.

“We’ve added competition,” he said. “When you have competition, it pulls the best out of you. “It’s all about getting better, not just to improve our skills, but to make the whole team work faster.”

The Poles were also pleased with the Legion of Bear Scouts, which for months compiled detailed reports on prospects and was awarded the team’s largest conscription class since 2008.

“(Like scouts), it’s all smiles,” Ackley said. “That’s what you want. You want those chances and swings. We are very proud of that.

“You write 400 guys a year, and sometimes when you do that, you don’t even get a single choice. That’s how it works. But it’s really cool when you add such choices, see the names on the board and start looking up and saying, “Man, we have a chance to get these guys”.

The Bears ’willingness to make four deals on Saturday, of course, depended on how their draft board was leveled. And the painful effect of the COVID-19 pandemic – many college players took advantage of the extra season eligible to participate in 2021 – gave this draft an intriguing volume deep on Day 3, even if the event didn’t have the usual hiss in Round 1.

“I didn’t think it was that interesting at the top,” said longtime Bears scout Jeff Shiver. “There was no movie star. But (depth) just blends through, all the way down. … In the seventh round there will be guys where someone will steal. “

The Bears hope they did part of the theft.

The Poles also made it clear on Saturday night that his desire to throw the dice so many times was a vote of confidence in Eberflus and his coaching staff, which will now take over the development process.

“We have brought many good teachers to this building,” the Poles said. “So that’s where it pays off.”

For a franchise that has not had three winning seasons in a row since 1988, the early stages of another major reset may seem tedious and unfeasible. But the NFL doesn’t have a magic potion that generates instant twists.

The Poles on Saturday did everything they could to add depth to their chart and give Eberflus a place to start. Now the bears will move forward with the realization that they still have a long way to go.

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