Known for the percentage play, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles looks to have taken atypical risks in three circumstances for this year’s club.
It’s tempting to picture of Bears GM Ryan Poles as the type who prefers a safe play.
He is not a reckless gambler searching for a big win with a hazardous player. He’ll hedge his bets.
There are many examples of this.
One example of playing it safe was the Jalen Carter scenario, in which the Bears moved back and did not select the top defensive lineman in the draft at a need position because to the drag racing situation and his lack of commitment displayed in the lead-up to the draft.
Taking a chance this year would have meant sticking with Justin Fields. Instead, Poles chose Caleb Williams, a rookie quarterback with spectacular passing statistics who had been named the greatest quarterback in that draft for the previous two years. That’s better than relying on a quarterback who has three times failed to throw for more than 2,562 yards in a season.
Last year, the Poles might have selected Bryce Young first, but Fields had shown some promise. Taking DJ Moore, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks was a lot safer bet than selecting Alabama’s 5-foot-10 quarterback.
Some may see signing Kevin Byard at safety this year to replace Eddie Jackson as a risk, but Jackson’s play level dropped significantly last year from the previous season, whereas Byard remains viable enough at 31 years old to be ranked as the NFL’s 12th best safety heading into this season by Pro Football Focus. He will be a member of a secondary that primarily plays zone and began to click last season. So far, this appears to be a minor risk.
The Poles did take three significant gambles with this lineup, and here they are:
Kevin Byard picks off Caleb Williamspic.twitter.com/yPi2qUbltA
— ๐๐พ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ถ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ต๐ญ๐ผ ยน ๐ (@TrolledByFields) June 4, 2024
They expect DeMarcus Walker to develop and one of their two young defensive ends, Dominique Robinson or rookie Austin Booker, to give relief in their rush rotation.
The reason this does not rank as a larger danger is that they have lost nothing on the defensive end since last year, and that group was adequate for assisting Montez Sweat off the other side after he arrived.
Walker’s contribution last year was vastly underestimated, probably because Pro Football Focus ranked him 84th out of 112 edge players. They ranked him low as a run defender, but the Bears were No. 1 against the run after finishing 31st the year before. This upgrade did not happen by chance, and it certainly did not occur because Yannick Ngakoue halted the run. Walker was a significant improvement as a run defender over Ngakoue, Robinson, and Robert Quinn. His pass rush was also undervalued by PFF. He recorded 12 of his career-high 22 pressures in the final seven games following Sweat’s arrival. He had eight of his 22 pressures in the last four games, after they had lost Ngakoue for the season.
DeMarcus Walker is in for a big year 2 for the #Bears
โ23 stats:
-30 TOT
-3.5 sacks
-16 QB hitsDude was ๐ฅ down the stretch w/2 sacks and 8 QB hits in the last 4 games.
Watch out for @livinglegend_44 in โ24 ๐pic.twitter.com/lVEVANTnwz
— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@OfficialJAYCHI) April 11, 2024
So they have one veteran response. The fact that they can still bring in another veteran edge makes this less of a risk at this point. This may change if opening day approaches and they are still aggressively hunting for defensive end help.
