Chicago Bears Swipe Notable Scouting Addition From Seattle

The Chicago Bears made significant changes to their scouting department over the past few weeks following the 2024 NFL draft. Multiple area scouts, a national scout, and a scouting director were all let go. GM Ryan Poles then set about overhauling the staff. Most of his moves were made from inside. Ryan Weese, Keith Earle, and David Dudeck all got promotions from scouting assistants to area scouts. Breck Ackley took over as director of college scouting, and Francis Saint Paul became his assistant. However, there was one notable addition from the outside.

D.J. Hord arrived to become the team's new Director of Pro Scouting. This is interesting because that position was vacant through the first two years of Poles' tenure as GM. It is a clear indication this is somebody the Bears wanted. Hord was a wide receiver at Notre Dame in the mid-2000s. He shifted into scouting after that, becoming the director of football operations at Northern Iowa from 2013 through 2017. It was around that time they started sending more players to the NFL such as David Johnson, Deiondre Hall, and Daurice Fountain.

His work got him a job with the Seattle Seahawks as a scouting assistant where he eventually became a pro scout in 2019. Since then, he helped the organization add key names like Duane Brown, Quandre Diggs, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Smith, Gabe Jackson, Uchenna Nwosu, Dre'Mont Jones, and Evan Brown.

This move by the Chicago Bears isn't a big surprise.

If there is one area Poles has somewhat struggled during his first three years in charge, it is the pro scouting department. His biggest mistakes were all in that area. The botched signing of Larry Ogunjobi, trade for Chase Claypool, and bloated contract for Nate Davis all don't look too great. It would make sense for Poles to look into adding somebody who can help correct some of the issues on that side of the staff. Hord got an excellent education in Seattle. GM John Schneider routinely found success over the years in securing quality contributors in free agency and the trade market.

While the Chicago Bears may not wish to lean on the veteran pool to push their Super Bowl aspirations, few teams ever reach the mountaintop without making some key additions in that area. Ask the Kansas City Chiefs where they would be without the arrival of Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark in 2019. What about Matthew Stafford to L.A. in 2021? Veteran additions may not carry the same long-term optimism draft picks do, but they can often mean the difference between deep playoff runs and getting to Cancun first.