Ryan Poles' Overlooked Reasoning For Drafting So Many O-Linemen

Everybody expected the Chicago Bears to draft at least one offensive lineman this year. Maybe two depending on how the board fell. Nobody could've anticipated GM Ryan Poles to grab four of them. It was the most blockers the organization had taken in a single draft since 1989. They also did it in 1983. The idea was simple enough to surmise. Poles wanted to create competition as the team overhauled their front five. This is true. However, the reasoning didn't stop there. The Bears GM understands another fundamental rule of football. Guys get hurt. They get hurt all the time. The odds of all five starters staying healthy for a full season is next to impossible. Yes, drafting four linemen was meant to improve the competition. At the same time, there was an alternate goal as well. Poles want to improve the depth at every position as much as possible.

"You can never have enough offensive linemen. It's a position—at least from my experience—regardless of how it shakes out, it's rare to finish a season with the starting five that you started the season with. So, anytime you can increase the volume of talent in that room, you're getting better."

He's not wrong. Ten different linemen started at least one game for the Bears last year. Their depth was exposed on several occasions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ5fmBOf35Q&ab_channel=NBCSportsChicago

Ryan Poles proved this by targeting every position.

He found help at tackle with Braxton Jones. Ja'Tyre Carter and Zachary Thomas should be able to fill in at guard. Last but not least is Doug Kramer at center in case Lucas Patrick goes down. The Bears now have contingency plans for every position on the offensive line. That is some smart thinking. What makes this situation even crazier is Ryan Poles drafted almost half the number of linemen that Ryan Pace did in his entire Chicago tenure. Pace selected nine from 2015 to 2021. If this is the start of a trend, then the Bears offensive line could end up being one of the deepest in the NFL a couple of years from now. That shouldn't be a shock. Poles is a former lineman himself, as is assistant GM Ian Cunningham. It is only logical they'd place great emphasis on that area of the roster. Justin Fields isn't likely to complain. His blocking may not be great yet, but if he can survive a little longer, that may soon change.