GM Ryan Poles has the final say on every
Chicago Bears draft pick they will make moving forward. That is how it goes with most teams. That said, the scouting department is given a voice in every draft. There's a reason the team pays those men large wages to scour the country for the best football talent available. Like any human beings, they each have their personal favorites of who'd they would want on the roster if given a choice.
I decided to do a projection with a twist to mix things up. Which player from each country region is somebody that area scout would "pound the table for?" Sam Summerville once said his favorite player in the draft was a tiny running back out of North Carolina A&T named Tarik Cohen. That stuck with Ryan Pace at the time and he ended up landing the kid in the 4th round. Cohen went on to become an All-Pro returner and spark plug offensive weapon.
This is why smart GMs
listen to their scouts when they display a passion for specific players. Here are a few educated guesses.
Chicago Bears area scouts all likely have personal favorites
Scott Hamel (Southeast) - Cole Strange, OL, Tennessee-Chattanooga
Before taking over the southeast region this past summer, Hamel was the Bears' midwest scout for several years. He had a direct hand in drafting guys like
Cole Kmet, David Montgomery, James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, and Jordan Howard. So he seems to prefer blue-collar guys who might not be flashy but play a physical brand of football. Strange is precisely that type of player. He has the versatility to play an interior position similar to Whitehair and Daniels to go along with polished technique and a never-back-down attitude on every single snap.
Breck Ackley (Southwest) - Zyon McCollum, CB, Sam Houston State
During the Ryan Pace era, the Chicago Bears didn't dabble much in the southwest region. The one pick that really stood out for Ackley was
Jaylon Johnson in 2020. The Utah cornerback proved to be a major steal with his great mixture of size, athleticism, and toughness. McCollum checks many of those same boxes. He's 6'2, wicked fast, and makes it seem effortless in coverage. He's also a team captain with 13 career interceptions. Forget the small school background. This guy can play, and Ackley will know it.
Brendan Rahor (Midwest) - Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame
This is a problematic projection because it's Rahor's first year with an area job, having been a Bears combine scout before that. So I looked for any trends the Bears have shown over the past few years regarding combine performances and the draft. One thing that stood out was how they seemed to target running backs with a potent mixture of speed, versatility, and toughness. Williams is the embodiment of that. He was the heart and soul of the Irish offense, demonstrating leadership and a tireless running style. He can do every part of the game well including catch passes and pick up blitzes.
David Williams (West coast) - Khalil Shakir, WR, Boise State
Productive players with great intangibles. That seems to be the MO for Williams since his promotion to the west coast region in 2016. Thomas Graham Jr. and Khyiris Tonga are two recent examples from Oregon and BYU, respectively. Shakir is a shining example of this. He was consistently a factor in the passing game across three years with at least 700 yards and six touchdowns each season. While not the biggest or fastest, he has enough of both along with a relentless playing style that makes him a chore for defenses to deal with.
John Syty (Northeast) - Jeremiah Gemmel, LB, North Carolina
This is the man that helped Chicago land the likes of Nick Kwiatkoski, Tarik Cohen, and Bilal Nichols. He seems to have his eyes fixed on the North Carolina region of his area, so he almost certainly knows about Gemmel. He embodies many similar qualities to Kwiatkoski with his intelligence, instinct, and leadership. He's also fast, able to close on ball carriers with a surprising burst, and is a factor in coverage. If he were a bit taller (6'1), more people would be talking about him.
