Ryan Poles issues warning: 2024 NFL Draft could be boring for Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles loves to make trades. He’s made every kind of trade since taking the job in 2022. Whether it was trading away Roquan Smith or trading for DJ Moore, Poles has never shied away from a deal that he thinks can improve the roster. They haven’t all worked out (see Chase Claypool), but for the most part, Poles has developed a strong reputation for making solid trade decisions.

Poles has proven to be especially active in making trades during the NFL Draft. He had ten or more picks in each of the last two Chicago Bears drafts because of the moves he made throughout the process, and the general thought is that he’ll try to increase his draft capital in 2024 by potentially trading down from the Bears’ second first-round pick, No. 9 overall.

But the fact that the Bears made all those trades the last two years has Chicago in plus territory with its draft picks during Poles’ tenure, even when factoring in only four picks in 2024. And that’s why he isn’t desperate to make a move for more selections this year, especially not at the expense of a blue-chip player.

“The way this is set up and [with] some of the draft capital we’ve been able to create in the first two years, I feel pretty comfortable about it,” Poles told ESPN. “It’ll be boring if we don’t do any trades, but I feel pretty good about where we’re at.”

MORE: Complete 7-round Chicago Bears 2024 Mock Draft

The Bears are all but guaranteed one of the following players to be available at No. 9 overall if they decide to keep the pick: Rome Odunze (WR, Washington), Malik Nabers (WR, LSU), Joe Alt (OT, Notre Dame), or Dallas Turner (Edge, Alabama). And even if Turner isn’t the Bears’ favorite edge rusher in the class, they’re all but assured to have their EDGE1 on the board when they’re on the clock.

At some point, Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears have to use their picks, especially when they can land a great player. Trading back would be fun for the draft purist, having multiple swings at a home run is better than just one. But the odds the Bears will hit a home run increase mightily with a top-10 pick. I expect Poles to stay put and for the Bears to prosper because of it.