The Chicago Bears have four games left. They're 3-10. Right now, projections have them in control of the #2 overall pick in the 2023 draft. It isn't yet clear if that will hold true. However, most experts agree the chances are high that GM Ryan Poles will hold at least a top five pick next year. That would mark the fifth time this has been the case for the franchise since 1998. One would think this is excellent news. Selections that high almost always work out in favor of the team. Poles has nothing to worry about.
Except that isn't true. At least it isn't for the Bears. If people want to pinpoint why this organization has only seven winning seasons in the past 25 years, they need look no further than what they did with the four top five picks they held in that span. It is incredible how three different GMs managed to make similar mistakes over that time. That should help to understand the kind of pressure Poles will be under next spring.
Ryan Poles must succeed where his predecessors failed.
1998 - 5th pick - Curtis Enis, RB, Penn State
Everything about this draft was a disaster. Not only did the Bears waste a golden opportunity to draft Peyton Manning by winning two meaningless games late in 1997, but they also managed to pick the wrong running back. Enis averaged 3.3 yards in his Bears career, marred by injuries along the way. Meanwhile, Florida star Fred Taylor went 9th overall to Jacksonville and finished with 11,695 yards rushing in his career.
2003 - 4th pick traded for 14th and 22nd picks - Michael Haynes, DE, Penn State/Rex Grossman, QB, Florida
The idea GM Jerry Angelo had was sound. It was his second draft, and he wanted to reshape the roster to his vision. For that, he needed more picks. Unfortunately, he moved down too far. The best pass rusher was gone by the 14th pick, with Terrell Suggs going to Baltimore. Haynes played three seasons in the NFL and had 5.5 sacks. As for Grossman, his early career was characterized by injuries. Though he did help the Bears to Super Bowl XLI, he never became that franchise quarterback they needed.
2005 - 4th pick - Cedric Benson, RB, Texas
So much about this pick is frustrating. Not only did the Bears not have a pressing need at running back (Thomas Jones was on the roster), but it was clear Benson didn't want to come to Chicago. They drafted him anyway. Aaron Rodgers slipped down the board into the waiting arms of Green Bay. If that weren't bad enough, Angelo admitted he probably would've drafted DeMarcus Ware if he'd been paying closer attention going into the draft. It's hard not to wonder what happens in the Super Bowl the following year if either player ends up with the Bears.
2017 - 3rd pick traded for 2nd pick - Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
Ryan Pace will forever be a villain to Bears fans for this moment. He had the pick of every quarterback in the 2017 class. It was his grand opportunity to reverse the fortunes of the franchise. All he had to do was get it right. Ultimately, he chose the one QB that didn't work out. Trubisky was a decent player, but he wasn't Deshaun Watson and sure wasn't Patrick Mahomes. That blown opportunity led to a Super Bowl window shutting after only one season and the necessity of yet another rebuild a few years later.
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