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Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles has said he wants to change the narrative of the team not helping quarterbacks. His draft choices could signal him going all-in on proving it.
The 2024 NFL Draft is almost upon us. In just one day, Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles will lead the most important draft in franchise history. After trading Justin Fields, the team has a huge need at quarterback. In what is possibly the worst-kept secret of the draft, it appears that the choice at number one is former USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams is considered by many to be a generational talent. They compare him to Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes. Those are lofty comparisons.
While he has not outright said that Williams is his pick, Poles’ actions speak for him. He sent a small city of people to USC’s Pro Day. The day before, he had dinner with Williams and some of his former teammates. Additionally, Williams was the only quarterback to have a Top-30 visit with the Bears.
Reporters tried to get something out of Poles in his pre-draft press conference. He remained mum on his plan, however.
We know what we’re going to do but everyone is going to have to wait until Thursday.
Poles trying to end the Bears’ narrative
The Chicago Bears have a reputation for not helping quarterbacks. This is their 105th season and they are the only team in the league that has yet to have a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards. There has been a long line of quarterbacks but none were known as a true franchise quarterback.
Poles became the Chicago Bears GM in 2022 looking to change that narrative. He bid his time before he got the chance to find his guy. Finally, he found him in Williams so now he wants to do everything in his power to help the kid succeed. He knows his job is attached to Williams.
FOX Sports analyst Joy Taylor talked about that bad narrative and questioned if Williams could succeed with the Chicago Bears.
And I just can’t dismiss what everyone else has been building to accommodate for one player that’s going to a team that has no culture, that has no history of winning as of late, whose coach we do not know is a good head coach, to all of these new additions — new additions by the way are all on paper, have not all played together.
Former Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Bowl quarterback Robert Griffin III also had harsh words about Williams going to the Chicago Bears.
Caleb Williams should pull an Eli Manning and tell the Chicago Bears I AIN’T COMING. pic.twitter.com/g9Mx1cggsA
Griffin said that Williams should do what Eli Manning did — refuse to play for the Chicago Bears. Manning famously told the then-San Diego Chargers in 2004 that if they picked him at number one he would refuse to play. The Chargers then traded him to the New York Giants. RG III felt that since the Bears were such a bad organization Williams should do the same thing.
Poles listened to all of that talk and it upset him. He said he came in to change that narrative.
It pisses me off a little bit, to be honest with you, because we were hired to break a cycle…I really believe we’re about to break this cycle and get this city in a really good situation and win a lot of games.
Poles is going all-in on Williams’ success
As mentioned earlier, Poles wants to ensure Williams’ success. We already saw what he’s done ahead of the draft. This offseason, he fired the coaching staff and hired a new one. Out went Luke Getsy and his staff, in came Shane Waldron and a new staff.
After that, Poles went to work revamping the offense. He made trades and hit free agency to add a lot of firepower to the unit. He signed running back D’Andre Swift. In addition to running the ball well, the Pro Bowler can be a good asset catching passes out of the backfield.
Poles then strengthened the offensive line. He traded for Ryan Bates and signed Matt Pryor and Coleman Shelton.
Poles also signed tight end Gerald Everett to complement Cole Kmet. Waldron likes to use a lot of two tight end sets so Everett and Kmet could be a great duo. In 2023, they had a combined 1,130 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns.
Speaking of duos, Poles went out and got a wide receiver to go with D.J. Moore. Surprisingly, he traded for six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen. Moore and Allen had 2,607 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
So combining the wide receivers and tight ends, they combined for 3,737 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. The entire Bears passing game had 3,096 passing yards and 15 touchdowns last season. If Williams can be a fraction of what some feel he will be the Chicago Bears will have an incredible scoring offense.
Because of that, we should look for Poles to give Williams even more. If he does nothing else, Williams will walk into the best situation any quarterback chosen number one has ever had.
In addition to the number one pick, the Chicago Bears have the ninth pick. Poles will have a lot of options there. He could stay there and pick up an elite wide receiver or offensive tackle. However, he could trade down and gather up a few more picks.
If Poles wants to make a bigger splash than picking Williams, he could trade up and pick up Marvin Harrison Jr, the top wide receiver prospect in the draft. Imagine giving Williams Moore, Allen, and Harrison as his top targets. That would send shivers across the NFC North.
Poles stated that when he became GM, he wanted to take the North and not give it back. If he piles on and gives Williams an embarrassment of riches that could happen right away.
More must-reads:
- J.J. Watt has interesting comments on possibility of playing in 2024
- Former All-Pro CB medically cleared for football activities
- The 'AP First-Team All-Pro tight ends' quiz
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