Only a select group of people know what Ryan Poles is thinking right now. They are other men who held the position of GM. He controls the most prestigious pick in the 2023 draft at #1 overall. The debates are raging about what Poles should do with it. Some think he must take the best defender available. Others think he should trade down. A prominent few even believe it would be wise to pick a new quarterback and move on from Justin Fields. The Chicago Bears can go in so many different directions.
Former GM Mike Tannenbaum has already gone on record saying the smart decision is to move on from Fields. He thinks trading the young quarterback and drafting Alabama's Bryce Young to replace him will get the results Chicago is looking for. Rick Spielman disagrees. The former Minnesota Vikings GM has the opposite point of view. He thinks Fields showed enough progress last season to justify another year as the starter. He revealed what he'd do in Poles' place on The 33rd Team.
Given where this roster is at, the decision should be obvious.
"What I would do if I was in Chicago’s situation with the No. 1 overall pick is try to trade out of that position to accumulate more draft picks. What hurt a little bit was they had the first pick in the second round [of the 2023 draft], but they traded it to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Chase Claypool.
They’re gonna have to try and make up for that because that is a valuable pick to be at the top of the second round and get the best of the rest. I would trade back and try to get as many playmakers and improve that roster because the Bears have a ways to go. And they should build it around Justin Fields because of what he showed this year."
Spielman knows the Chicago Bears can benefit from moving down.
Few general managers were better at it over the past several years than him. Throughout his long tenure in Minnesota, he traded down in the 1st round no fewer than five times. The results were pretty encouraging in most cases.
2010
- Traded 30th pick and 4th round pick to the Lions for 34th pick, a 4th round pick, and a 7th round pick
- Landing Chris Cook, Everson Griffen, and Mickey Shuler with those picks.
- Griffen became a four-time Pro Bowler
2012
- Traded 3rd pick to Browns for 4th pick, a 4th round pick, 5th round pick, and 7th round pick
- Picked Matt Kalil, Jarius Wright, Robert Blanton, Michael Mauti, and A.J. Jefferson
- Kalil was a Pro Bowl left tackle and Wright was a special teams ace
2014
- Traded 8th pick to the Browns for 9th pick and 5th round pick
- Took Anthony Barr and David Yankey
- Barr was a four-time Pro Bowler
2020
- Traded the 25th pick to the 49ers for the 31st pick, a 4th round pick, and 5th round pick
- Selected Jeff Gladney, D.J. Wonnum, and K.J. Osborn
- Wonnum had 8 sacks in 2021 and Osborn has back-to-back years of 650 yards receiving
2021
- Traded the 14th pick and a 4th round pick to Jets for the 23rd pick and two 3rd round picks
- Picked Christian Darrisaw, Kellen Mond, and Wyatt Davis
- Darrisaw has become a quality starting left tackle
Several of those players Spielman acquired played key roles in the Vikings' sustained success over the past ten seasons, including five playoff trips and an NFC championship appearance. The Chicago Bears could benefit even more since #1 overall is the most valuable pick in the draft. It comes down to how far Poles might be willing to drop. That depends on how deep he thinks the pool of top talent is in this class.
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