Steelers trading away George Pickens makes the decision-making of Bears' GM Ryan Poles in the 2022 NFL Draft look even better this offseason
Being an NFL general manager is a tough gig. You're going to get criticized for every decision you make, and ever decision you don't make. The good news is, over time everyone gets to see what was right or wrong in the long run.Over the last few months, a ton of people have been very […]
Being an NFL general manager is a tough gig. You're going to get criticized for every decision you make, and ever decision you don't make. The good news is, over time everyone gets to see what was right or wrong in the long run.
Over the last few months, a ton of people have been very critical about Chicago Bears' general manager Ryan Poles and the decisions he's made since taking over in 2022 to facilitate the rebuild of the organization.
Now, not everyone is free of bad decisions, but one of the more controversial ones of Poles' early tenure looks a whole lot better today.
On Wednesday morning, news broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers traded disgruntled wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, a few weeks after trading for and extending wide receiver DK Metcalf.
This seemed like an inevitable outcome for the former 52nd overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft after tensions continued to rise between the offensive weapon and the staff in Pittsburgh. And the result comes at a fitting time and proves Poles made the right decision during his first draft with the Bears.
Going back to the 2022 NFL Draft, many fans were begging the Bears to draft Pickens with one of their two second-round selections to give quarterback Justin Fields a top weapon in the passing game. Instead, Poles selected cornerback Kyler Gordon AND safety Jaquan Brisker over Pickens and caught a lot of backlash for it.
Fast-forward three years, Gordon is now the highest-paid nickel in football and a long-term building block in Chicago and the energy he and Brisker have brought to the defense has been outstanding while Pickens was sent packing to Dallas.
From Day 1, Poles has been criticized for passing on players with character concerns in the draft. He did so in 2022 passing on Pickens TWICE and did so again during the 2023 NFL Draft trading back from pick No. 9 to No. 10 passing on defensive tackle Jalen Carter for right tackle Darnell Wright.
In the case of Pickens, it's clear now Poles made the right decision sticking to his guns, but he's still made his fair share of bad decisions he needs to be held accountable for such as trading a high draft pick for Chase Claypool and spending big on Nate Davis, two experienced players who had obvious character concerns.
He's learned from those mistakes and has since continued to build a strong culture in the locker room by targeting players with high character to add to this team. You can't fault the process because it's one that will continue to work out more often than not in the long-term.
Bears Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson weigh in on the first draft working together and what they learned about each other throughout the process
These two are just getting started.
