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Bear Digest

Two Deals Indicating Ryan Poles Really Can Find an Edge in This Draft

The Bears GM receives plenty of heat for not pursuing high-cost edge rushers more fervently, and for making bad moves at edge rusher, but one signing says he knows what he's doing.
Gene Chamberlain|
Montez Sweat reaches out in an attempt to stop Packers QB Jordan Love last season.
Montez Sweat reaches out in an attempt to stop Packers QB Jordan Love last season. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During the course of the 2023 season, the Bears made a trade in an attempt to kick-start a non-existent pass rush.

They had 20 sacks the previous season and finished last in the league. The deal was for Montez Sweat and Ryan Poles gave up a second-round pick to acquire him from the Commanders.

When the trade came down, there was the usual complaining. How could GM Ryan Poles would trade for Sweat instead of often-injured Chase Young? Or there was Sweat had never made double-digit sacks in his career. Those who had visions of the Chase Claypool trade fresh in their memories accused Poles of throwing way another Day 2 pick.

The real whining came a short time after the trade when Sweat got a four-year, $98 million contract extension.

On Friday came one final bit of vindication for the Bears GM, although he didn't really need it after Sweat has produced 21 1/2 Bears sacks in 42 games and has been one of their only consistent run defenders on the defensive line.

The justification for that trade and contract came in the form of a contract extension given Friday by the Jacksonville Jaguars to edge Travon Walker. Sweat and Walker are comparable-sized players, and both rush the passer without giving away much in the run game.

Only 2 1/2 years after the Bears traded for Sweat and signed him, Jacksonville is paying $110 million over four years for a player who is inferior to Sweat. They spent a first-round pick at No. 20 overall to get Walker in the first place, too.

This isn't to say Walker is a bad player. He gets the job done, and has had a few good sack seasons while playing better run defense in the last few years than earlier in his career. However, he isn’t Sweat by a long shot.

What Poles did was pinpoint a good edge and see the edge rush market for what it was. Position costs skyrocket on the edge in short periods of time. They always do.

If you can get someone capable of double-digit sacks and plays the run well, and do it for a price that will hold up with time, you made a good trade. The second-round pick for someone as good as Sweat was nothing. It's Jaquan Brisker or Ozzy Trapilo or Kyler Gordon or Cole Kmet. With all due respect to any of those players, Sweat is better. He's much better and worth more than the second-round pick they spent to acquire him.

What the number say

Compare Sweat to Walker and you see what a colossal bargain it was.

Some analysts place a huge emphasis on pressure rate over sacks. Sweat as a pressure rate of 3.14 per game over the last three years and Walker's career rate with the Jaguars is 2.7 based on Pro Football Focus' definition of pressures.

PFF grades are subjective but Walker has never had a grade for any full season or for run defense or pass defense higher than 69.2 that he had in 2024 for his run defense. Sweat has been in the 70s regularly. He has had run defense grades as high as 72.9 and no wore than 62.4. Walker had a run defense grad of 49.7 and nothing better than a 69.2.

The point to all of this is how Poles deserves credit for knowing and valuing an edge rusher when he sees one. He also seems to have found something with a fifth-round pick in Austin Booker.

As a result, he may come up with a reasonable alternative to boost their rush and also keep their run defense on track in this draft.

Poles missed with the Dayo Odeyingbo trade. At least the half-season Odeyingbo played before the torn Achilles tendon he suffered says this. He also failed with a fifth-round pick for Dominique Robinson, a player they took a real flyer on as a wide receiver-turned pass rusher.

They also got nothing from a few other players who were basically only pick-up types, like Al-Quadin Muhammad and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. An Muhammad later turned out to be a double-digit sack guy. There was talent in there, but not talent coaching him at the time.

With two second-round picks and a first-rounder, the Bears should be able to find someone who can complement Sweat and Booker as a pass rusher while helping to also bolster their sagging run defense. The Sweat deal and how he found Booker say he knows more about defensive line play than he's given credit for knowing.

And there will be value in it because he'll be paying much less than if he had ventured into the free agent market for a third pass rusher.


Nor will they give up a first-roun pick this year and another next year, along with a bunch more cash, for a player who could hav knee issues like Maxx Crosby.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.