Ryan Poles Gave Interesting Update On Plans For The #1 Pick
No team has greater resources in the 2023 off-season than the Chicago Bears. They have the most cap space of anybody by a comfortable margin and control the #1 overall pick. GM Ryan Poles finds himself in an enviable spot. If he does his job right, he could set his team up for significant long-term success. It comes down to what he has planned. So beat writers took the chance to ask him about it following the press conference to introduce new team president Kevin Warren.
Poles didn’t provide any specifics, which isn’t a surprise. However, he did offer some interesting details that paint a picture of what is to come. Right now, the Bears are deep in the process of evaluating and preparing for free agency in March. As for the draft, it is too early to tell what the market will look like for the #1 pick. That will change starting in early February when the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl occur. The scouting combine is on February 27th. Poles feels the landscape will be much clearer by then.
Ryan Poles must wait on the quarterbacks.
They will determine how things play out. It starts at the Senior Bowl, where top prospect Will Levis of Kentucky has a chance to boost his stock with a strong week. Together with Bryce Young of Alabama and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, they can send the hype machine into overdrive. The more teams become infatuated with them, the higher the demand for the #1 pick. Everybody knows the Bears are open for business. They have a quarterback already in Justin Fields. Poles’ phone is ready.
History says that movement of any kind won’t come until around mid-March. That is when most of the primary pre-draft events will be complete. Teams should clearly understand what the class looks like and how free agency will break. That is when they begin setting their plans. Ryan Poles should receive lots of calls around that time. If somebody comes forward with a strong enough offer, don’t be surprised if the Bears make the deal long before they’re ever on the clock.