Ranking Ryan Poles' Most Brutal Draft Misses From Each NFL Draft Class

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has a complicated reputation in the fanbase. Many fans are unforgiving when it comes to his draft misses, and that's understandable. Poles has made some big mistakes in the NFL draft, after all. But in the interest of fairness, he's also brought Chicago some of its best talents in years. His draft classes rank highly over the last decade when compared to his predecessors, though that's an admittedly low bar.

Still, Poles' worst picks have been absolutely brutal, and there's a reason that many fans remain skeptical even after the 2025 Chicago Bears' awakening on offense. With that in mind, and with the 2026 NFL draft coming on Thursday night, let's take a look back at Ryan Poles' four draft classes for the Bears and determine his biggest whiffs, starting with one that's at least tolerable.

Tory Taylor - 2024 NFL draft, No. 122

The Australian-born punter hasn't been bad for the Bears. Indeed, through his two NFL seasons, I'd say Taylor has been average. However, when you draft a punter in the fourth round as the Bears did with Taylor, you expect to get a perennial All-Pro at the position. If the Bears only wanted an average punter, they could have signed almost anyone to a minimum deal. That makes Taylor a miss, though I do believe that the Bears will keep him around for a few more years.

Kiran Amegadjie - 2024 NFL draft, No. 75

'Forgettable' is probably the best word to describe this former Yale Bulldog. Amegadjie entered the 2024 NFL season still recovering from a major injury in his final college season, and the idea was that he wouldn't see the field until at least 2025. However, injuries to other offensive linemen pressed him into service late in the year, and Amegadjie looked lost.

In 2025, Amegadjie was never seriously considered for a starting role on the offensive line, not even amid a chaotic left tackle training camp battle. At this point, I'd be surprised if he's still on the roster by August, especially since he was drafted before Ben Johnson and his coaching staff arrived in Chicago.

Tyler Scott - 2023 NFL draft, No. 133

The former Cincinnati Bearcat was supposed to be a major speed threat for the Bears when they selected him in 2023. In college, every one of Scott's 14 touchdowns went for at least 20 yards, and six of them were over 50 yards. He was going to be the guy who could take the top off a defense and take advantage of Justin Fields' prowess for throwing deep balls. Instead, he caught just 17 passes as a rookie for 168 yards and zero touchdowns. In 2024, he was only targeted once, and in 2025, he was shown the door after training camp. A brutal miss by Ryan Poles.

Ruben Hyppolite II - 2025 NFL draft, No. 132

I almost didn't include this pick because I don't think it's entirely fair to write a player off after one season. But selecting Hyppolite in Round 4 when no one even had a draftable grade on him was an egregious unforced error by Ryan Poles. He was a total non-factor in 2025 and appeared to be completely outmatched, even in his preseason appearances. If it wasn't for the final name on this list, I would argue that this was Poles' biggest draft bust.

Velus Jones Jr. - 2022 NFL draft, No. 71

Drafted way too early and retained on the roster for far too long, Jones is without a doubt Poles' biggest draft miss. Jones was supposed to be a speedy gadget to complement quarterback Justin Fields and unlock Luke Getsy's offense. But he couldn't catch the ball as a receiver, fumbled too often as a running back, and muffed too many punts and kickoffs. There was just nothing he did well, though I suppose he got the last laugh as a member of the Super Bowl LX champions, the Seattle Seahawks.

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