Picking quarterbacks is difficult in the NFL. In fact, it might be the hardest thing for any organization to do. That is because finding somebody who can play the position at a high level is rare. However, picking the player is only part of the problem. So often overlooked in these situations is the picking teams dropping the quarterbacks into bad situations. Ones where they don't have a lot of help from the rest of the offensive roster. This is a trap the Chicago Bears organization has fallen into more often than most. It is also one GM Ryan Poles has done a better job navigating than anybody in his position before.
Everybody believes the Bears are about to take a new quarterback #1 overall next month. The fact they just traded Justin Fields proves that. This will be by far the best supporting cast a 1st round pick has ever inherited in franchise history.
Jim McMahon
- RB - Walter Payton
- WR - Brian Baschnagel
- WR - Ken Margerum
- TE - Emery Moorehead
Jim Harbaugh
- RB - Neal Anderson
- WR - Willie Gault
- WR - Ron Morris
- TE - Emery Moorehead
Cade McNown
- RB - Curtis Enis
- WR - Marcus Robinson
- WR - Bobby Engram
- TE - Alonzo Mayes
Rex Grossman
- RB - Anthony Thomas
- WR - Marty Booker
- WR - Dez White
- TE - Desmond Clark
Mitch Trubisky
- RB - Jordan Howard
- WR - Josh Bellamy
- WR - Kendall Wright
- TE - Dion Sims
Justin Fields
- RB - David Montgomery
- WR - Allen Robinson
- WR - Darnell Mooney
- TE - Cole Kmet
Presumptive #1 pick in 2024
- RB - D'Andre Swift
- WR - D.J. Moore
- WR - Keenan Allen
- TE - Cole Kmet
Three Pro Bowlers and a solid tight end. That is tremendous work by Poles, especially since he never had to pay egregious resources to get them. Kmet was inherited from the previous regime. Moore was secured by trading the #1 pick to Carolina. Allen cost a 4th round pick to get and Swift was a free agent.
Ryan Poles finally did it the right way.
He set the table before acquiring the quarterback. One lesson he learned from his days in Kansas City was the odds of a quarterback becoming successful often depended on how much help he had around him. It probably isn't a coincidence Patrick Mahomes excelled immediately because he had Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce on the field with him. Poles had a chance to get his quarterback last year with the #1 pick, but he realized something. The supporting cast wasn't good. They had no definitive running back or wide receiver on the roster. So he traded the pick. Those resources helped him eventually solve both issues.
Now the Bears are ready. They can take a young quarterback knowing the roster is equipped enough to help him have success early. Swift can handle the ground attack while Allen, Moore, and Kmet forge a formidable trio in the passing game. Even the offensive line is in good shape with two promising tackles in Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright. Ryan Poles might not be perfect, but the guy has done an incredible job building a foundation, unlike any Bears GM before him.
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