Ryan Poles is going for broke in the teardown of Ryan Pace’s old Chicago Bears team.
Ryan Poles traded Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, and now Roquan Smith. It appears no one is safe no matter how valuable they may appear to Bears fans. With Smith being the latest player traded it’s time to evaluate what Poles may do next and what he’ll also be doing during the 2023 offseason.
The Bears are rumored to not be finished trading players
David Montgomery and Teven Jenkins are still a possibility to be traded according to NBC Sports Chicago. The new regime still hasn’t given much praise to Jenkins despite what he’s done. Jenkins moved from right tackle to right guard and has become the Bears’ best offensive lineman this season.
No one should be advocating for the Bears to move Jenkins, but the rumors persist that Jenkins may be gone. Ryan Poles may have more faith in the players he drafted in Ja’Tyre Carter Zachary Thomas and Doug Kramer three interior offensive line prospects
David Montgomery has 92 carries and 361 yards in a contract year. Khalil Herbert his back up has 91 carries and 563 yards. Montgomery’s remaining value is as a blocker that helps pick up blitzes or fix mistakes by someone else along the offensive line. Trestan Ebner looks like a decent backup option with Herbert as the starter. If Montgomery gets moved it may not be for more than a fifth-round pick at this point.
Where do the Bears stand with 2023 draft picks and what’s next?
The Bears have been adding draft picks with these trades so where do they currently stand?
Bears 2023 draft picks:
1st round (own)
2nd round (own)
2nd round (Ravens)
3rd round (own)
4th round (own)
4th round (Eagles)
5th round (own)
5th round (Ravens)
7th round (own)
Plus over $100M in salary cap space to upgrade the roster.
This doesn’t even begin to cover the next moves Ryan Poles is likely to make. The Bears have their franchise quarterback, and they are going to try and bottom out in the draft. This means on draft day Ryan Poles is going to be getting phone calls from teams who need a QB and are going to need to move up to the Bears’ draft spot to get one. I would put the odds that the Bears add another first-round pick and an additional second in the 2023 draft at least 50-50 as it stands today.
That’s a nearly ideal scenario for the Bears being able to add minimally two more first-round picks to an already stacked pick list and over $120-million in cap space. The Bears couldn’t be in a better position to add talent and begin the process of building with players that Ryan Poles picks.
It may be a rough last two months to the NFL season, but the payoff for the Bears in free agency and draft capital could be huge if Ryan Poles plays his cards right, and there’s no reason to believe he isn’t holding pocket aces.
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