At some point Saturday, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles transformed from a patient NFL draft observer into a frenzied deal broker. A call with the Los Angeles Chargers heated up early, with the Bears pushing to deal a 2023 sixth-round pick for two late swings in Round 7 Saturday evening. A little while later, the Buffalo Bills called with interest in the…
At some point Saturday, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles transformed from a patient NFL draft observer into a frenzied deal broker. Poles knew the depth of this year’s draft class matched up with massive holes across his roster. He knew the limited draft capital he had to work with and was determined to do something about it. A call with the Los Angeles Chargers heated up early, with the Bears pushing to deal a 2023 sixth-round pick for two late swings in Round 7 Saturday evening. A little while later, the Buffalo Bills called with interest in the Bears’ first of two picks in Round 5. Done deal. Poles happily slid back 20 spots and picked up an extra sixth-rounder. The Houston Texans called next. Another deal. Once again, the Bears backpedaled down the Round 5 draft order while adding more picks for Saturday’s proceedings. A subsequent trade was executed with the Cincinnati Bengals. By 2 p.m., Poles had turned the three Saturday picks he woke up with into eight overall selections. The Bears’ draft hive was so alive with a flurry of trades and then a wave of picks that area scout Breck Ackley found himself dizzy and excited. “Fast and furious,” Ackley said. “It was a little like ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ there for a minute.” No wonder Poles entered his post-draft news conference just before 7 p.m. with a look of fatigue and a sense of fulfillment. “I’m exhausted,” he said. Understandable after Poles slept at Halas Hall on Friday night and then selected eight new rookies in a span of 3 hours,36 minutes Saturday afternoon to finish off his 11-player draft class. In all, the new Bears GM grabbed four offensive linemen, including Southern Utah offensive tackle Braxton Jones and Doug Kramer, a center from Illinois by way of Hinsdale Central. Poles also found two defensive players for new coach Matt Eberflus, including promising but ultra-raw pass rusher Domonique Robinson from Miami of Ohio, who just three years ago was a wide receiver in the Redhawks program.
