Chicago Bears Receive Glowing Reviews For Their Free Agency Work

Winning free agency never translates to winning championships. At least it doesn't 90% of the time. Teams use this time of year to plug holes on the roster and hope they can find their star power in the draft. The Chicago Bears are the same way. However, GM Ryan Poles also isn't naive. He knows his leash is getting short. His first three years with the team all ended with losing records and resulted in the firing of his first head coach. Patience with him is already thin among Bears fans. He needs to get this team winning now.

Chicago had the money to spend, and they finally decided to come out swinging. Over the course of one week, Poles delivered five moves that completely changed the look of this roster. It started with trades for guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney. That was followed on the first day of free agency with a flurry of splashes. Leading the way was center Drew Dalman, followed by defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, and finally, former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.

The reaction from experts across the NFL landscape was pretty telling.

The Chicago Bears can bring it all home in the draft.

Poles has put the team in a great position. Mind you, those five men shouldn't be expected to make this team a Super Bowl contender. That isn't why they were acquired. These moves were meant to raise the floor of this roster. They should stabilize two of the most problematic areas for the Chicago Bears. Now the team can go hunting for star power in the draft. They have three picks in the top 41. That gives them a legitimate chance to land three really good players. Poles has been fairly good at finding quality talent in the early rounds. This could end up becoming his coup de grâce.