5 things the Chicago Bears and Ryan Poles absolutely, positively, 100% must not do this off-season

Alan Goldsher | Feb 14, 2025

Bears GM Ryan Poles says words out of his mouth hole. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Heading into arguably the most important spring and summer in franchise history, the Chicago Bears have a lot of thinking to do.

But they also have a lot of thinking not to do.

Ownership nailed it on the coaching hire—Ben Johnson looks like he’ll be a fantastic leader, and he’s assembling an Avengers-like all-star staff to protect his flanks—but they’ll have to get it even righter in free agency and at the draft.

Bears Nation is way nervous, as GM Ryan Poles has yet to prove he can get it right (or righter) on a consistent basis. For that matter, he’s been wildly wrong on way too many occasions—Chase Claypool and Velus Jones Jr., anyone?—so hopefully he’s learned from his whiffs.

But just in case he hasn’t taken his mistakes to heart, we offer up five transactional no-no’s:

Don’t Draft an EDGE In Round One (Unless It’s Abdul Carter)

EDGE is, by far, the deepest position in the draft—an NFL.com mock from this week has eight of ‘em going in the first round—and chances are that one of those eight will slip to day two, at which point Poles can snatch up his fave with one of his two second round picks.

Don’t Overpay For an Offensive Lineman Not Named Trey Smith

Smith isn’t just the best O-lineman on the free agent market, but one of the three best available players, period. If Poles is going to break the bank, Smith is the guy.

Beyond that, it doesn’t behoove Chicago to spend big on the position group, as there are just a small handful of free agent options who are under 30, none of whom are needle-movers. Count former Bear James Daniel in that group, along with Mekhi Beckton, Patrick Mekari, Alaric Jackson, Ben Bredeson, and Dan Moore Jr.

Not a super-inspiring collection. Spend wisely, Ryan.

Don’t Trade Out of the First Round

Trading up? Cool, let’s get Abdul Carter.

Trading down? Cool, more high-end draft capital.

Trading out? Not cool. Not one bit.

Poles already has a couple of high second-rounders in his back pocket, so bringing in another pair, along with maybe a third-rounder, is just silly.

Don’t Ignore Positions That Seem Solid

Jaylon Johnson is a beast, but that doesn’t mean Poles should take a pass on a cornerback on day two or three. The Bears need playmakers on both sides of the ball, and come the latter part of the draft, Chicago has to go best player available, hard stop.

Don’t Be a Wimp

This shouldn’t be a problem, as Poles has demonstrated he’s not afraid to take big swings. If he can figure out a logical way to acquire Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons, get it done, salary cap and other positional needs be damned.

Stars win trophies, and the Chicago Bears are sorely lacking in star power. If Poles is brave and creative—and if he takes all of the above “don’ts” to heart—Chicago might just have itself a happy autumn.