It's a Rap: Ryan Poles First Draft Ends Wildly

Bears scout Breck Ackley probably best described the situation at Halas Hall as the trade calls began on the final day of the 2022 NFL Draft.

One trade right after another brought the Bears more players for the roster.

"Fast and furious," Ackley said. "It kind of was a little Wolf of Wallstreet there for a minute when the trade calls were coming in."

GM Ryan Poles, and not Leonardo DiCaprio was calling the shots and he made four trades total to acquire five extra picks on a day when it looked like the Bears would have only two fifth-round picks and a sixth-rounder.

Instead, they finished with two fifth-rounders, three sixth-rounders and three seventh-rounders for 11 total picks. None of their Day 3 picks came before the 168th pick, which might say something for quality or lack therof.

“As you all saw, we were able to really turn those three picks that we had today into eight, which just gave us a lot more ammunition to bring in more players to compete and make this roster more competitive and I truly believe that when you increase the amount of competition you get the best out of everybody," Poles said. "It also gives a high hit rate of players to bring onto the roster that can really impact our team and develop as well."

An edge rusher in Dominique Robinson from Miami (Ohio), another safety in seventh-rounder Elijah Hicks from California, vesatile sixth-round running back Trestan Ebner from Baylor and punter Trenton Gill of North Carolina State joined the four offensive linemen they drafted on Day 3 after securing cornerback Kyler Gordon, safety Jaquan Brisker and wide receiver Velus Jones on the second day.

To be sure, none of the Day 3 picks will step right into a starting spot, but it wouldn't be surprising if offensive lineman Zach Thomas challenged seriously for one at right guard. It was easily the team's biggest lineup question after they found Brisker to fill a spot vacated when they chose not to re-sign Tashaun Gipson in free agency.

If there was a Wolf of Wallstreet feel to it all, the energy was the biggest similarity. Poles said everyone was prepared for what happened.

"We repped this out over and over and over again so when you do it it's very calm," he said. "The energy is good and no one's panicking, we're communicating at a high level with each other and it worked out perfectly I thought."

The Trades

Poles dealt the sixth-rounder he got from the Chargers next year right back to them for two seventh-rounders this year.

He sent the fifth pick in Round 5, No. 148 overall, to Buffalo and moved down 20 spots plus picked up the 203rd pick late in Round 6.

The 150th pick in Round 5 went to the Houston Texans for No. 166 in Round 5 and 207 in Round 6.

Then he traded the 166th pick acquired from the Texasfor the 174th and the 226th.

What Wasn't Done

The one big omission by the Bears was the interior of the defensive line, and it only fuels speculation they might be pointing to a re-sign with free agent three technique defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi after he initially failed his physical.

"The beautiful thing is that we have rookie minicamp coming up this week and we'll get to see a lot of these players out running around," Poles said. "We'll see our roster the last few weeks and we'll just keep self-evaluating. If that's the route we need to go, then we will. If we feel comfortable with our group, then we're still going to look for talent; we always do."

And they took only one wide receiver the entire draft for Justin Fields. Poles suggested they could find an undrafted player.

"That might be a spot for someone to make the roster or the 90-man and develop from there," he said. "There’s gonna be cutdown day for the 53, where there will be talent that we will acquire from that as well. And then there’s trades in season, before the season, during camp. And we’ll just keep firing away.”

Day 3 Selections

Round 5, Pick 168

T Braxton Jones, Southern Utah

A 6-7, 310-pounder with great reach. He has 35-1/2-inch arms and ran a 4.97-second 40-yard dash while doing a 4.84-second shuttle drill. He could fit the wide zone scheme well and was mostly a left tackle at his school. Scouts loved his pass blocking ability.

"The feet, the length, the size, but also room to grow," Poles said. "There's a ceiling there we believe we can develop and a lot of times it is the makeup, it's also the body type and the physical traits. We believe he has a lot of those pieces to develop."

Round 5, Pick 174

DE Dominique Robinson, Miami (OH)

An edge rusher who is 6-4, 249 and switched positions from wide receiver to edge rusher after two years in college. He put on 30 pounds to make the switch and described himself as needing experiene as an edge player.

"I consider myself to be really, really raw," Robinson said.

"But the Bears also saw strong pass rush traits. He made 6 1/2 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in his two years after switching, including 4 1/2 sacks last year.

Round 6, Pick 186

T/G Zachary Thomas, San Diego State

Thomas is 6-5, 308 and probably is not a tackle in the NFL but definitely can be a guard and is very fast, as it seems most of the linemen are that the Bears have added. He ran a 4.96 40 and it shows best on screens to the outside or wide zone schemes for running plays.

"I like his toughness, I like his positional versatility," scout David Williams said. "So he started 30-plus games in his career, 17 at right tackle, 11 at left tackle, a couple at guard so having that possibilities is really valuable.

"Toughness, the way that San Diego State's program is just run game, they're one of the few out West that they'll just run power and I think it shows a lot about his temperament, his physicality does stand out on tape."

Round 6, Pick 203

RB Trestan Ebner, Baylor

A 5-11, 215-pounder who has the size of an every down back but could be a specialty back for third downs because of his experience working in the passing game. He ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash. In college he caught 127 passes for 1,515 yards and 20 touchdowns. In five years he ran 343 times for 1,690 yards, a 4.9-yard average, and had nine rushing TDs.

"I think he offers a combination of size and speed," Poles said. "What stood out with him is a lot of the outside zone scheme, he had feel and you need feel and vision in that scheme."

Round 6, Pick 207

C Doug Kramer, Illinois

A bit undersized at 6-2, 300, but is a quick center (4.97-second 49) who works well in space. He is from Hinsdale, Ill. and grew up a Bears fan. As a pass blocker last year, Kramer allowed no sacks and three pressures according to Pro Football Focus.

"Kind of a take-charge guy. He melts into the team well," scout Jeff Shiver said. "Blends well. He's not the mean-guy leader. Everybody likes him, but he can call guys out."

Round 7, Pick 226

T Ja'Tyre Carter, Southern

A tackle/guard who played lighter at 275 pounds but has since put on weight to 311 and again fits the desired ability to move and hit in space in the run game and screen game.

"I think guard ends up being his natural position," scout Breck Ackley said. "That's what he did in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. Size, length-wise that's probably what he matches up best."

Round 7, Pick 254

S Elijah Hicks, California

A 5-11, 200-pound defensive back who made five interceptions and 14 pass breakups. He had a bit of Peanut Tillman in him with six forced fumbles for his career, including four in his final season. He played cornerback for three years and then went back to safety his final year, so they will have an option with him. Known as an excellent special teams player. The move to safety was probably necessary because he ran just 4.65 in the 40.

"You can see him doing a lot for you," Eberflus said. "You know, you can match him up on certain players, he can play the deep part of the field, he’s got great range in the deep part of the field. He's a physical player. So we were really excited to get him at the spot that we got him. We were elated."

Round 7, Pick 255

Punter Trenton Gill, North Carolina St.

A big punter at 6-4, 219 pounds, he averaged 45.8 yards for three seasons. As a walk-on, he won his scholarship by averaging 47.6 yards in 2019 for 52 punts, putting 16 inside the 20 and forcing 17 fair catches.

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