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Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles’ 10 most boneheaded draft picks, trades, and signings, ranked

Is Poles the worst general manager in Chicago Bears history? Based on these ten moves, it's hard to say no.
Alan Goldsher|
Ryan Poles, explaining away yet another boo-boo
Ryan Poles, explaining away yet another boo-boo | David Banks-Imagn Images

Ryan Poles has one job: Win a Super Bowl. Everything else is window dressing.

By that measure, the Chicago Bears' general manager has been terrible during his three years at the helm. Under his front office leadership, the Midway Monsters have won 15 of their 51 games, they’ve finished last in the NFC North each season, and their 29.4% winning percentage over that stretch ties them for the worst in the NFL.

So yeah, bad at his job.

What did Poles do (or not do) to hit this level of futility? Here are the ten most egregious moves of his regime, high-visibility boo-boos that should’ve gotten him fired months ago.

10) April 25, 2024: Drafted QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze

Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, Draft night 2024
Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, Draft Night 2024 | David Banks-Imagn Images

Listen, Williams and Odunze will likely be excellent football players for years to come, and on Draft Night, snatching up the USC pass-thrower and the Washington pass-catcher was, by most accounts, the right call.

But hindsight being 20/20, wouldn’t Jayden Daniels and Brock Bowers look nice in Bears unis?

9) November 4, 2023: Overpaid EGDE Montez Sweat

Before the ink dried on the contract, Sweat’s four-year, $98 million extension looked reasonable: The second Sweat set foot on the Halas Hall practice turf, he became the Bears’ top D-lineman, and the forthcoming 2024 free agent crop was thin on that side of the ball.

But in his first full season in Chicago, Sweat managed just 4.5 sacks and 23 tackles. Did he take his foot off of the gas after he got paid? We’ll find out this coming September.

8) March 16, 2022: Traded Khalil Mack

For Poles, in the spirit of jumpstarting his rookie season tank, sending the future Hall of Fame linebacker to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for draft picks that turned into Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, and Trenton Gill was a logical, due primarily to Mack’s advancing age and inevitably hefty cap hit.

Admittedly, keeping Mack in the building wouldn’t have made sense for the future, but during his three-year stretch in L.A., he total 31 sacks. Over that same period, the Bears as a team managed 77. Maybe it would have made sense, eh?...

7) January 31, 2022: Took a Victory Lap at His Introductory Press Conference

Poles will never live down the quote, “We’re gonna take the [NFC] North and never give it back."

Nor should he.

6) TIE: March 13, 2023: Signed OL Nate Davis / March 13, 2024: Signed TE Gerald Everett

Poles brought in Davis on three-year, $30 million deal, then, exactly one year later, threw a two-year, $12 million contract at Everett.

On November 13, 2024, the Bears cut Davis after a series of injuries and semi-insubordinations, while Everett finished the 2024 season with eight catches on 13 targets. Strike one, strike two, Poles is out…or at least he should be.

5) October 25, 2022: Traded LB Roquan Smith to Baltimore

The Mack trade made semi-sense due to his age (31), but when Poles shipped Smith east, the University of Georgia product was 26, nowhere near his prime.

Smith has been an All-Pro in each of his three seasons in with the Ravens, a three-year run during which Chicago’s linebacking unit has managed exactly zero postseason accolades.

4) January 27, 2022: Hired Matt Eberflus

The summer of ’22 produced some awful NFL coaches—Nate Hackett in Denver, Brian Daboll in New York, Dennis Allen in New Orleans—but Eberflus’ inability to win (14-32 record) or hire competent offensive coordinators (Shane Waldron, Luke Getsy) arguably makes him the worst of the class.

3) April 29, 2022: Drafted WR Velus Jones Jr.

Poles selected Jones over fellow receivers Khalil Shakir, Romeo Doubs, Jalen Tolbert, Calvin Austin III, and Jalen Nailor, all of whom are quality contributors.

After a career marred with dropped passes and muffed punt returns, Jones was waived on October 25, 2024, making this the worst pick of Poles’ mediocre debut draft.

2) November 1, 2022: Traded for WR Chase Claypool

It seemed like a good idea at the time—the Bears were in desperate need of a receiver, and the former Steeler had shown flashes in Pittsburgh—but, well, whoops. Claypool managed just 18 catches in his ten games with Chicago, a tenure marred with lousy off-field behavior and waxing and waning effort.

The pick the Steelers received in return (#33) turned into Joey Porter. It also could’ve turned into Brian Branch, Sam LaPorta, or Jayden Reed. D’oh.

1) April 27, 2023: Chose RT Darnell Wright Over DT Jalen Carter

Unlike the Claypool deal, swapping first-round picks with Philadelphia didn’t seem like a good idea at the time. Yes, Carter had his off-field issues, and yes, it was believed that the Bears didn’t have the infrastructure to get Carter past said issues, and yes, Wright is a perfectly decent O-lineman.

But Carter has been—and likely will continue to be—one of the league’s most disruptive defenders, and unless Wright becomes Larry Allen (spoiler alert: he won’t), this one will always remain hung around Poles’ neck.

In any other industry, that kind of boneheaded move alone would cost Poles his job. Hard stop.

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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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