An Alarming Stat About Ryan Poles and the Future of the Bears Defense
The Bears made meaningful improvements in free agency, but Ryan Poles' track record of drafting impact defenders raises real questions about Chicago's pass rush moving forward.
Video Transcript
All right, it's "The Bears Roundtable," Sam Phelan with you here.
I wanna talk about the defense, and I wanna talk about GM Ryan Poles.
An alarming stat for me for the future of the Bears' defense, and none of it really has to do with what the Bears have done recently because in free agency, I actually think Chicago has, done a lot of good.
They've become more well-rounded.
They've filled a few of their needs.
Sure, they haven't taken the swing that I think a lot of Bears fans wanted them to, whether it be Max Crosby in a trade or Trey Hendrickson in free agency.
but the Bears have cap constraints.
They are not really able to take on big contracts like that, and, they've made some concessions in places.
They added Kobe Bryant for forty million dollars.
They added Devin Bush for thirty million dollars, and they had to watch Kevin Byard walk out the door as a result.
but I still think the Bears have done a lot of good.
They've added speed, which was a big need for Dennis Allen's group, something that was really lacking in two thousand twenty-five.
They're getting younger, faster, more versatile, and all of that is good, and it's just one of the things they're gonna have to deal with this off-season is, you know, balancing getting a little bit worse at some offensive positions, losing a few veteran leaders that you would like to retain for the sake of becoming a more well-rounded football team.
But none of that is really on the subject that I really wanna talk about.
I do wanna focus on the defensive line, the defensive front, the, the edge rusher situation, pass rush, because the Bears have not gotten much better when it comes to pass rush.
We know they liked what they got from Montez Sweat, specifically in the second half of the season.
Austin Booker, four and a half sacks in ten games, a good step in his development for, you know, a fifth-round pick that was incredibly raw when the Bears drafted him out of Kansas.
Daiya Odengbo coming back from injury, I suppose.
I mean, you really have no choice but to incorporate him into the mix with the three-year, forty-eight million dollar contract that he got.
the Bears really don't have a step forward.
They haven't gotten much better when it comes to pass rush, and they needed to get better when it comes to rushing the passer if they looked to be actual Super Bowl contenders.
So now the Bears have a great opportunity in front of them in the NFL draft because they've addressed needs like linebacker and safety, and they filled the center hole and brought in a few left tackles and a, and a wide receiver.
They can use a lot of their picks on filling out the rest of this defense, and I expect them to.
But I do have doubts about Ryan Poles' ability to draft defensive talent, and it all comes back to his history as Bears GM.
In the four years since Ryan Poles took over as Bears GM, Chicago has one hundred and twenty-five sacks as a team.
That's thirty-first in the NFL, one sack ahead of the Carolina Panthers, who have a hundred and twenty-four for dead last.
You are one of the worst teams in the league at impacting the quarterback since Ryan Poles took over.
That's many years to try and get it right for veteran pass rushers, rookie pass rushers, the draft, free agency, whatever.
The Bears haven't done it.
Poles is still yet to draft a defensive player to make the Pro Bowl.
That includes a twenty-twenty three draft class in which seven of the Bears' ten selections were on the defensive side of the ball and fourteen total players drafted by Poles in his tenure.
If you combine the career stats of those fourteen players, they have just thirty-four total sacks between them.
Nine and a half of those are by defensive backs, and the most sacks in a single season by a Ryan Poles draft pick is six by Gervon Dexter in twenty-twenty five.
So while Poles has done a tremendous job of assembling one of the best offenses in football, and he deserves a ton of credit for that, you look at draft picks like Zach Pickens and Tyrique Stevenson and Ruben Hippolyte and Shamar Turner.
you look at Daiya Odengbo getting ninety-eight million, or, getting his big contract and ninety-eight million dollars for Montez Sweat and seventy-two million dollars for Tremaine Edmunds.
None of these moves working out quite up to the expectations of the Bears front office, and I have to ask a question about Ryan Poles' ability to assess and acquire defensive talent.
I don't say this because I think Ryan Poles is a bad GM or because I think it puts the Bears in a bad spot for twenty-twenty six.
As I mentioned before, I do like a lot of what they've done this off-season already and think they're well-positioned to address the rest of their needs in the draft.
But it is worth mentioning because until I see Ryan Poles prove it in the draft and hit on these premium defensive players, I have to remain a bit skeptical because it is a big draft coming up and a big off-season and a big season in twenty-twenty six.
This is where the Bears go from one hit, one year wonder or sustained success, perennial contender.
A lot of that can be determined by what happens this season, and it's on Ryan Poles right now to hit on these defensive draft picks.
You can't have another draft class like you had last year.
Awesome offensive picks, Loveland, Burden, Tripilo, all great.
Shamar Turner, Ruben Hippolyte, Zah Frazier, all flops.
So you have to hit on your defense this time around, and if you look at his track record, we actually haven't seen Poles do this before.
Makes me a little bit nervous.
