Ryan Poles and his team set a goal to rewrite the Bears' history books. After two years of tearing down and rebuilding, the plan was revealed in glorious detail in last night's round one of the 2024 draft.
Ryan Poles met with Chicago media after selecting two blue-chip offensive weapons in Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze. His words were exhilarating:
“The history's the history. Like I'm kind of done talking about it. You go back so much all the time and those days are over. So we're bringing players in here that want to really just change everything up and do things a different way. Obviously, we love our history here, but it has hasn't been smooth recently and it's time to change.”
Ryan Poles
Ryan Poles could have fallen into the same trap GMs before him have by selecting a defender with their second first-round selection. They waited to let the draft fall to them. In Poles' press conference after round one, he spoke highly of his staff. Their projections had given him a 50-50 chance Odunze would be available when the Bears made their pick with the ninth selection. Ian Cunningham was credited for talking Poles out of making a move to trade up to ensure they selected Odunze. You can hear the entire press conference here.
Offense wins championships in today's NFL. Defense is also critical, but the moves made by Poles and his staff have sent a message. The offense now has perhaps the NFL's most elite set of receivers. Moore, Allen, Odunze, Kmet, and Everett. No rookie quarterback in recent memory has been handed the keys to an offense this loaded.
Everywhere one looks on Twitter, the good vibes are contagious!
There has never been a time where Bears Twitter has been this positive and united about the Chicago Bears. Congratulations Ryan Poles for a job well done!!
More work remains!
Unless Ryan Poles dips into his 2025 draft capital, Chicago only has two more picks this year. The 75th overall selection in round 3, and a fourth round pick at 122. Most of the top centers are still on the board, so it will be interesting to see what transpires tonight.
News and Notes
The NFL draft resumes tonight at 6:00 PM Central, with rounds two and three. Saturday, the last four rounds will begin at 11:00 AM.
The Bears will conduct their rookie minicamp May 6-8, the weekend following the draft. They will then hold nine OTA practices May 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 26, and June 6, 7, and 9.
The club will host the Bears Care Gala on June 4 at Soldier Field. The annual event raises funds to support Chicago-area research efforts focused on finding a cure for breast and ovarian cancer and improving treatment options for those currently battling those diseases.
The offseason program will conclude with a mandatory full-squad minicamp June 14-16.
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