Ryan Poles Personally Scouted Draft Prospects With Justin Fields

GM Ryan Poles created some controversy through his first official NFL draft day. Chicago Bears fans constantly hounded the organization with one clear-cut demand throughout the preceding weeks. Forget defensive players. Focus on building the offense and get Justin Fields some help. So it wasn’t well-received by many when both Bears 2nd round pick on Friday night were defensive backs.

While Kyler Gordon of Washington and Jaquan Brisker of Penn State should be instant contributors for the secondary, the feeling was Poles had left his young quarterback out to dry. He didn’t care about Fields. Yet another GM who was too focused on defense to understand the giant missed opportunity. Except people making these assumptions don’t understand what Poles is trying to accomplish. He isn’t ignorant of Fields’ needs.

Truth be told, he’s more hands-on with the young QB than many realize.

The Bears GM sat down for his post-Day 2 press conference and explained his reasoning for how things went. Chicago didn’t go into the action expecting either Gordon or Brisker to be available when they picked. This was after running countless mock draft simulations. So Poles couldn’t pass on players of such clear value in good conscience. Not until the 3rd round did he finally address the offense, adding speedy and versatile wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. of Tennessee.

It was here that Poles made a shocking revelation. When asked if he kept Fields in the loop on what was happening in the draft, the GM stated that he’d gone a step further by sitting down with Fields and watching game film on several prospects last weekend. Jones was somebody the quarterback liked and put on a list of players he’d want to play with if possible. Not something you hear every day.

Ryan Poles is proving to be way more up front.

This isn’t a man prone to misdirection or weird espionage. When he speaks, it’s with surprising forthrightness. He isn’t afraid to say what he means and mean what he says. That simple yet significant move to sit down and watch tape with Fields can’t be understated. Many, if not most, GMs would never do that. They might keep their quarterbacks in the loop with text messages or phone calls. To willingly accept his QB’s player assessments is something else.

Getting that stamp of approval on Jones was likely a big reason Ryan Poles felt comfortable drafting him despite the concerns. During most of his college career, Jones was never a standout receiver but was an explosive weapon in specific packages and probably college football’s best returner. He’ll also be 25 next month. That didn’t seem to bother the Bears’ quarterback, who sees significant potential.

That may not satisfy fans, but the GM heard enough.

Either way, this is a really cool situation. People love to point out that Poles didn’t draft Fields and had no loyalty to the quarterback. Some have even said his lackluster offensive investments clearly indicate that the GM plans to move on from the QB at his first opportunity. If that were true, there’s no way he would’ve taken time out of such a hectic schedule to watch game tape Fields.