Poles Free Agent Signings and Trades

[adam]

In the last 3 seasons, the Bears have signed or traded for at least 37 players, I am sure I missed a few.

Of all the trades and free agent signings, I have 5 players that have exceeded expectations based on contract or trade value. Who did I miss? 

I know you can't hit on all of them, but it feels like there are way too many at the bottom.  Super long post, but let me know if you think this looks accurate?

This group exceeded expectations:

1. Moore - has been as close of WR1 as they have had since Alshon and Marshall
2. Edwards - great LB signing
3. Billings - underrated DT
4. Byard - huge upgrade from Jackson
5. Taylor - for a 6th round pick? A pleasant surprise at Edge
---------------------------------------------------------
For me this group has performed as expected or close enough based on their contract:

Sweat - 6th highest contract, 58th in sacks with 4.5
Swift - signed a top 10 contract, currently 19th in rushing yards
Walker - $7M AAV for rotational DL
Owens - fairly solid ST player and backup S
Shelton - has steadily improved at C, was super shaky for first 6 weeks though
Jones - played solid DT for the Bears, but they didn't resign him
Carter - solid returner, filled in as WR admirably
----------------------------------------------------------
This group played decent but did not live up to contract:

Allen - huge contract, 4th round pick given up, finally played to his potential on Thanksgiving. Need to see that for 5 more games.
Edmunds - Massive overpay for a very average MLB, 3rd highest LB contract in the NFL
Ngakoue - Was supposed to be that Edge2 the Bears needed, never lived up to it

---------------------------------------------------------
This group of lesser players that were average at best:

Bates - Poles lovefest
Pryor - meh
Homer - meh
Obongbemiga - meh
St. Brown - meh
Morrow - meh, but then goes to the Raiders and leads NFL in tackles?
Blasingame - meh
-------------------------------------------------------
This group underperformed or were underutilized:

Everett - has looked terrible, like super bad, we gave up some young UDFA TEs to keep him
Cole - ST player
Foreman - spent half the year inactive
Patrick - was horrible, leaves the team and magically becomes a Pro Bowler
Lewis - I have never seen a player come in for one play, get penalized for a false start, then leave the game as much as Lewis.
-------------------------------------------------------
This group was a hot pile of garbage:

Feeney - Poles traded for him
Cruikshank - terrible
Siemian - why
Pringle - omg this guy sucked
Muhammad - a tackling dummy would apply more pressure than he did
Dozier - Poles thought signing arguably the worst G in the league would be a good idea?
Peterman - really?
Tonyan - This guy was supposed to be TE2 and had brick hands. He should be playing volleyball at San Jose St.
Davis - This guy is still getting paid by the Bears
Claypool - worst trade in the last decade, never trade a pick before you know the slot

 

5 names? That's it. Again, please tell me what Poles has excelled at and done better than the Vikings, Packers, and Lions front offices? It feels like the Bears are getting lapped, yet they had the pick of the litter over the last 3 years. Draft picks up next. 

[Stinger226]

That's a good list, when players get hurt and dont perform up to contracts, I give a nuetral grade. No one figures injuries. What Poles does that I like is not give a lot of big contracts that are long term hits on cap. Edmunds is an above average players but not lived up to the money. Its hard to find Edwards and Billings cheap pay , good play . 

Edmunds is a leader and presence in the middle of the defense that doesnt always shows up in stats. Sweat has had nagging injuries that has slowed him down. Davis and Claypool are the only players that got good money , the rest were just cheap contracts he took a shot on. 

He paid JJ, Kmet, DJ Moore, Sweat and Swift. Swift has not lived up to par because of the poor offensive play of OL and play calling. Sweat has been bothered by injuries. All those guys he paid deserved it. Edmunds ??? 

He has excellent cap space and 4 top  picks 11-37-40-73, I say that is gives us a good future. 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

The Bears had how many years with few draft picks.  How many vet contracts did they have to clear to actually have healthy cap space again. Poles said he was going to build through the draft and not FA,  so that means taking many shots on lower level vet contracts and not chasing the stars.  With little resources and needs, he bit on Claypool which at the time we were all excited to get Fields a deep threat.   Nate Davis filled a huge void but he checked out mentally, played 11 and 2 games.  He graded 3rd in 2023 for the Bears oline behind Jenkins and Braxton Jones. So he was fine in 2023.  Edmunds has not lived up to his ability, but could with an improved dline, so here is too hoping Poles addresses this area along with the oline. 

The issue, in my opinion, is coaching.  If you have a coach that knows how to win, and you are winning games, your players look better, play better, and you forget the bad easier.  This we will have to see.  

[BearFan PHX]

1 hour ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

The Bears had how many years with few draft picks.  How many vet contracts did they have to clear to actually have healthy cap space again. Poles said he was going to build through the draft and not FA,  so that means taking many shots on lower level vet contracts and not chasing the stars.  With little resources and needs, he bit on Claypool which at the time we were all excited to get Fields a deep threat.   Nate Davis filled a huge void but he checked out mentally, played 11 and 2 games.  He graded 3rd in 2023 for the Bears oline behind Jenkins and Braxton Jones. So he was fine in 2023.  Edmunds has not lived up to his ability, but could with an improved dline, so here is too hoping Poles addresses this area along with the oline. 

The issue, in my opinion, is coaching.  If you have a coach that knows how to win, and you are winning games, your players look better, play better, and you forget the bad easier.  This we will have to see.  

I totally agree. But mostly Poles biggest strikes have been in choosing coaches?

[ASHKUM BEAR]

22 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I totally agree. But mostly Poles biggest strikes have been in choosing coaches?

I think Poles was handcuffed on the coach.  They pre-interviewed the candidates and told him who they favored.  I would also say by the Warren/Poles post Flus interview, that they could not fire the HC without McCaskeys blessings.  Hence they had to wait for George to get to Halas Hall before proceeding.  

Poles, imo, couldn't fire him after last season. He had 2 years left on contract and that is not something they would consider without a disaster. 

Eberflus ultimately hires his coaching staff, so it is difficult to see how Poles failed with Getsy/Waldron when these were guys Flus wouldnhave hired.  

[BearFan PHX]

35 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

I think Poles was handcuffed on the coach.  They pre-interviewed the candidates and told him who they favored.  I would also say by the Warren/Poles post Flus interview, that they could not fire the HC without McCaskeys blessings.  Hence they had to wait for George to get to Halas Hall before proceeding.  

Poles, imo, couldn't fire him after last season. He had 2 years left on contract and that is not something they would consider without a disaster. 

Eberflus ultimately hires his coaching staff, so it is difficult to see how Poles failed with Getsy/Waldron when these were guys Flus wouldnhave hired.  

I think it all comes down to how much Poles actually wanted Eberflus this offseason vs being told he had to keep him.

I've heard that the McCaskeys wouldnt let him fire Flus, and Ive heard that Warren wanted to fire Flus and Poles fought to keep him. Both can't be true, and I have no idea which if any are real.

I'd need to know inside info I just don't have.

As for the assistants, I have been a loud voice about letting a coach fill his staff, but sheesh those were bad choices. And it seems like Trace Armstrong had way too much sway with our decision makers whoever they were.

Now we hope that Warren gets this right, and I dunno if he's even qualified for that.

Seems another sh*tshow.

The good news is we are all looking at the same names, and none of us really know which ones would work out and which wouldnt so theres some luck to it, so maybe we will get lucky and hit the right answer!

[Stinger226]

On 12/2/2024 at 9:16 PM, ASHKUM BEAR said:

The Bears had how many years with few draft picks.  How many vet contracts did they have to clear to actually have healthy cap space again. Poles said he was going to build through the draft and not FA,  so that means taking many shots on lower level vet contracts and not chasing the stars.  With little resources and needs, he bit on Claypool which at the time we were all excited to get Fields a deep threat.   Nate Davis filled a huge void but he checked out mentally, played 11 and 2 games.  He graded 3rd in 2023 for the Bears oline behind Jenkins and Braxton Jones. So he was fine in 2023.  Edmunds has not lived up to his ability, but could with an improved dline, so here is too hoping Poles addresses this area along with the oline. 

The issue, in my opinion, is coaching.  If you have a coach that knows how to win, and you are winning games, your players look better, play better, and you forget the bad easier.  This we will have to see.  

good post

[Stinger226]

8 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I think it all comes down to how much Poles actually wanted Eberflus this offseason vs being told he had to keep him.

I've heard that the McCaskeys wouldnt let him fire Flus, and Ive heard that Warren wanted to fire Flus and Poles fought to keep him. Both can't be true, and I have no idea which if any are real.

I'd need to know inside info I just don't have.

As for the assistants, I have been a loud voice about letting a coach fill his staff, but sheesh those were bad choices. And it seems like Trace Armstrong had way too much sway with our decision makers whoever they were.

Now we hope that Warren gets this right, and I dunno if he's even qualified for that.

Seems another sh*tshow.

The good news is we are all looking at the same names, and none of us really know which ones would work out and which wouldnt so theres some luck to it, so maybe we will get lucky and hit the right answer!

Rumors are just rumors until they prove the truth. Poles seems like a realist as a football guy. Loyal to Flus but when he lost the team willing to move on. so I have a tendancy to believe he wanted him let go after the AZ and NE games , clearly the team quit on him. I think his sounding board is Warren and Warren answers to George. They wouldnt let him. They got embarassed in Detroit, and changed their opinion.

Poles biggest mistake was being loyal to Flus after finishing 5-3 at the end of last season. Things were looking up. 2nd was his OL build that blew up with Davis checking out and Bates being injured for most of the year. Shelton is actually our most consistant OL. I think I seen he was ranked as the 6th rated OC according to PFF (boo) Adam? When he sees a weakness he attacks it, I think he brings in Trey Smith at RG, and drafts the crap oot of OL. Brings back Jenkins and Shelton on team friendly deals and best man wins. Next yr Kiran A. will compete with Jones at LT and be competant depth for who loses. 

[BearFan PHX]

7 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

Rumors are just rumors until they prove the truth.

Poles biggest mistake was being loyal to Flus after finishing 5-3 at the end of last season.

The thing is, we really dont know what Poles wanted.

We've heard rumors from people who are consistently right about what goes on in Halas Hall telling us that Warren wanted to fire Flus during the offseason, and Poles was loyal to Flus. We've also recently heard that poles wanted to fire Flus in the offseason and McCaskey wouldnt let him. They cant both be true.

I wish I knew which was true. And I dont.

My GUESS is that the insider info was correct and Poles kept him, and the rumpr now that it was McCaskey is meant to give Poles an out.

Whatever it is, it isn't good.

[Stinger226]

1 hour ago, BearFan PHX said:

The thing is, we really dont know what Poles wanted.

We've heard rumors from people who are consistently right about what goes on in Halas Hall telling us that Warren wanted to fire Flus during the offseason, and Poles was loyal to Flus. We've also recently heard that poles wanted to fire Flus in the offseason and McCaskey wouldnt let him. They cant both be true.

I wish I knew which was true. And I dont.

My GUESS is that the insider info was correct and Poles kept him, and the rumpr now that it was McCaskey is meant to give Poles an out.

Whatever it is, it isn't good.

Its a big mess but since none of them will be leaving the Bears anytime soon, might as well go with, Poles wanted to do the right thing, and the brass wouldnt let him.

Franchise isnt being sold anytime soon

Warren will be here until the stadium is done and then run for Mayor of Chicago

Poles is safe for one more year. 

Like you said before, the coach hire is the most important asset for this franchise but we have to wait 2 months to find out.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

3 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

The thing is, we really dont know what Poles wanted.

We've heard rumors from people who are consistently right about what goes on in Halas Hall telling us that Warren wanted to fire Flus during the offseason, and Poles was loyal to Flus. We've also recently heard that poles wanted to fire Flus in the offseason and McCaskey wouldnt let him. They cant both be true.

I wish I knew which was true. And I dont.

My GUESS is that the insider info was correct and Poles kept him, and the rumpr now that it was McCaskey is meant to give Poles an out.

Whatever it is, it isn't good.

https://www.chicagobears.com/news/stability-continuity-give-bears-really-bright-future-2024-poles-eberflus-warren

From Warren - more in article 

meanwhile, has seen firsthand how stability and continuity have benefited two NFL teams he's worked for. The Rams went 5-11 in 1997 and 4-12 in 1998 in Dick Vermeil's first two seasons as coach before winning the Super Bowl in 1999. The Vikings were 6-10 in 2006 and 8-8 in 2007 in Brad Childress' first two years as coach before winning back-to-back NFC North titles with records of 10-6 in 2008 and 12-4 in 2009.

[BearFan PHX]

8 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

https://www.chicagobears.com/news/stability-continuity-give-bears-really-bright-future-2024-poles-eberflus-warren

From Warren - more in article 

meanwhile, has seen firsthand how stability and continuity have benefited two NFL teams he's worked for. The Rams went 5-11 in 1997 and 4-12 in 1998 in Dick Vermeil's first two seasons as coach before winning the Super Bowl in 1999. The Vikings were 6-10 in 2006 and 8-8 in 2007 in Brad Childress' first two years as coach before winning back-to-back NFC North titles with records of 10-6 in 2008 and 12-4 in 2009.

Hard to know whats true and whats spin though.

If Poles wanted Flus but Warren was arguing against it then they didnt have a united opinion.
If Poles wanted to fire Flus but Mccaskey wouldnt allow it, then they didnt have a united opinion.

And yet int he press conference, they presented a united front.

So I personally dont know what to believe!

[ASHKUM BEAR]

18 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

Hard to know whats true and whats spin though.

If Poles wanted Flus but Warren was arguing against it then they didnt have a united opinion.
If Poles wanted to fire Flus but Mccaskey wouldnt allow it, then they didnt have a united opinion.

And yet int he press conference, they presented a united front.

So I personally dont know what to believe!

The article was from the Bears website last year.  I also recall on TV/news Warren say the team needs continuity and keeping the coaching staff is just that.  If Poles or Warren wanted to fire him last year, they got their stories inline before their press announcement last year.  

If you find a story saying the other way, please share.

[BearFan PHX]

4 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

If Poles or Warren wanted to fire him last year, they got their stories inline before their press announcement last year.  

If you find a story saying the other way, please share.

yeah that's what i'm saying, that whatever went down, they presented a united front in the press conference.

I dont have a link, but I did hear that Poles wanted to keep Flus and Warren wanted to fire him. It was on a podcast I watch that weve discussed before. It wasnt clickbait, it was kind of snuck in during a conversation, and wasnt the main point. i believe they heard it from internal sources at Halas hall. Whether those internal sources were right i cant say of course.

We are hearing that Poles wanted Flus gone after the patriot game and the McCaskeys said no. This I believe. Maybe thats what happened during the offseason too, and the story I heard was generated to give the McCaskeys cover? It's all guesses, no actual proof.

But I'm sure you'll all agree, something is rotten.

I'm not really sure how to evaluate Poles without more clarity on this, and I doubt I'll ever get any.

But the only way I'm cool with it is if Poles really did want to fire Flus this offseason and was told not to, and if that's the case, boy are the Bears screwed up as an organization.

Anyway, we all know the 8 names or so that will be in consideration for head coach. We will each have our favorites, but any COULD be good, and any could fail, so hopefully however the decision is made, we get lucky and bring in a winner.

I'm starting to soften on Belichik. I dont know if the Bears would give a guy the power he'd want, but he would almost certainly make us a better team.

[Lucky Luciano]

9 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I'm starting to soften on Belichik. I dont know if the Bears would give a guy the power he'd want, but he would almost certainly make us a better team.

we have a player on this team that could get the best information on qualifications of belly there is... caleb williams. supposedly tom brady has been mentoring him? if so this would be a hard yes or no depending on brady's evaluation to caleb.

that said, there are few coaches in the nfl present or past i dislike as much as belly. he is a cheater which makes him a liar and a thief. at least half of his superbowl wins should have been taken away from the pats and given to their opponents for cheating.

his resume also is incredibly dismal. take away drew bledsoe and tom brady and see what his record looks like as a head coach. almost anyone can coach a team with HOF and very good qb's to winning records.

[Stinger226]

Im not sure there is any inside sources that leak information from Halas Hall. Poles draft choices were always a surprise and not the gereral plubic thought. Its just clickbait coming from jouralists trying to make story. Florio suggests the Bears trade for a coach and its gets blown up, like that is a Bears choice. They are not doing that. 

They are not paying anybody 15-20 mil to coach here that takes some coaches off the board. They have to finish paying Flus 5 mil for 1 or 2 yrs. George isnt a big money guy. Gruden was making 10 mil a yr when he got canceled. I would say he would want 10-12mil to coach to get back to the NFL. I have heard Johnson will want 10 mil as the hot hire. Belichick is getting north of 15 mil. Vrabel got a 9.5 mil extension in 2021. he will cost 10-12 mil. If Brown excels the rest of the year, he will probably make 6-8 mil as a HC. That sounds more like a George hire to me.

[adam]

Poles has to go. The Bears need a clean slate to start fresh with Williams. Someone needs to come in and build inside out, all trenches until they are top 10 units. 

[BearFan PHX]

On 12/5/2024 at 6:23 AM, Stinger226 said:

Im not sure there is any inside sources that leak information from Halas Hall. Its just clickbait coming from jouralists trying to make story.

Well since it was buried int he middle of a 3 hour podcast, and not in the headline, it's not clickbait.

And since the guy asked his partner "should we say this?" and seemed nervous about divulging it, and since people like Courtney Cronin and Adam Rank go on the show and have him on their show, and since former players go on his show, I think MAYBE he heard something?
 

On 12/5/2024 at 6:23 AM, Stinger226 said:

They are not paying anybody 15-20 mil to coach here that takes some coaches off the board.

How do you know what they would pay? i thought you just argued that no one knows anything from Halas hall. At least mine was a report, you're just guessing?
 

On 12/5/2024 at 6:23 AM, Stinger226 said:

If Brown excels the rest of the year, he will probably make 6-8 mil as a HC. That sounds more like a George hire to me.

I think you're just guessing, and I don't think you have any particular insight into what Poles or the team would do.

[Daventry]

9 hours ago, adam said:

Poles has to go. The Bears need a clean slate to start fresh with Williams. Someone needs to come in and build inside out, all trenches until they are top 10 units. 

I agree, this year has shown a harsh light on the organisation overall.  The game yesterday really showed how weak the team is right now.  Poles is responsible.  He completely failed to address the o line, and the longer we go, the more holes appear.  I am sure he won’t lose his job though, it’s the McCaskey way to tolerate poor performance.  

[adam]

15 minutes ago, Daventry said:

I agree, this year has shown a harsh light on the organisation overall.  The game yesterday really showed how weak the team is right now.  Poles is responsible.  He completely failed to address the o line, and the longer we go, the more holes appear.  I am sure he won’t lose his job though, it’s the McCaskey way to tolerate poor performance.  

The roster is too weak. If SF could do that to the Bears with 10+ starters injured, then the 3-4 guys the Bears were missing shouldn't have mattered. Their 5th string RB scored a TD on the Bears defense. At the end of Year 3 and the team still needs a DT, Edge, CB, probably another S, and an upgrade at LB. That's 5 on defense. On offense, they need at least 3 on the O-Line at a minimum and a real threat to catch the ball at TE. That is another 5 players without counting depth pieces. There is no way this roster should be that weak after 3 full offseasons. 

[Stinger226]

12 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

Well since it was buried int he middle of a 3 hour podcast, and not in the headline, it's not clickbait.

And since the guy asked his partner "should we say this?" and seemed nervous about divulging it, and since people like Courtney Cronin and Adam Rank go on the show and have him on their show, and since former players go on his show, I think MAYBE he heard something?
 

How do you know what they would pay? i thought you just argued that no one knows anything from Halas hall. At least mine was a report, you're just guessing?
 

I think you're just guessing, and I don't think you have any particular insight into what Poles or the team would do.

You can talk for 50 hours that doesnt make a statement true. facts are no one knows unless a hallas hall employee puts his name on the story.

By history of the franchise, they are not payig 10 mil for Flus to walk away and then big money on a name, Im not claiming a source, Im just guessing just like you. 

I am just giving my opinion on stories, just like you, Im not claiming to know anything. Its all fiction until someone puts a  name on it. 

[Daventry]

9 hours ago, adam said:

The roster is too weak. If SF could do that to the Bears with 10+ starters injured, then the 3-4 guys the Bears were missing shouldn't have mattered. Their 5th string RB scored a TD on the Bears defense. At the end of Year 3 and the team still needs a DT, Edge, CB, probably another S, and an upgrade at LB. That's 5 on defense. On offense, they need at least 3 on the O-Line at a minimum and a real threat to catch the ball at TE. That is another 5 players without counting depth pieces. There is no way this roster should be that weak after 3 full offseasons. 

We are not the only ones smelling the reek

https://apple.news/AkjnrOFGMQAaK1BtDfXSD5w

There is no way we should be that poor with so many draft picks and money available.  Fire Poles.

[adam]

Here are the NFC North's draft picks from each team from 2022 and 2023 with an AV of 5 or more, with an honorable mention for a 2023 pick with AV of 4.

This is how each team did:

GB (9) - 14 picks in the first 5 rounds, 3 first rounders
2023 - Reed - 9, Wicks - 6, (Kraft - 4)
2022 - Walker - 13, Watson - 11, Doubs - 11, Tom - 12, Enagbare - 7, Walker - 10

DET (8) - 12 picks in the first 5 rounds, 4 first rounders
2023 - Gibbs - 10, Campbell - 5, LaPorta - 9, (Branch - 4)
2022 - Hutchinson - 18, Williams - 5, Joseph - 10, Rodriguez - 8

CHI (6) - 13 picks in the first 5 rounds, 1 first rounder
2023 - Wright - 8, Stevenson - 6, (Roschon - 4)
2022 - Jones - 13, Brisker - 9, Gordon - 7

MIN (3) - 12 picks in the first 5 rounds, 2 first rounders
2023 - Addison - 7
2022 - Ingram - 13, Evans - 6

So a few things stand out. Detroit having 4 first rounders in 2 years really helped a ton. 6 of their 8 high AV players were drafted in the first 45 picks. GB is almost the polar opposite. Only 2 out of their 5 picks in the top 42 hit. They made their money between the late 2nd and 5th rounds.

The Bears were clearly hurt by not having 2 first rounders, but Poles still got Brisker and Gordon in the 2nd. His big hit is Jones who may be replaced next year. Stevenson is listed but is probably not even a starter anymore and Roschon is nothing more than an RB2 or RB3. So Wright and Gordon may end up being all they get out of these drafts in a year or two (assuming Brisker's health). That is not good. To have sustained success you have to have 3-4 players contribute per draft year. 

Somehow Minnesota is good without any good drafts in recent years. This will catch up to them eventually because the bulk of their players are coming out of their rookie deals. The new GM really inherited a lot of good players. They were never in a full rebuild like the Bears were, but it is still shocking to see only 3 players on the list. 

 

[Stinger226]

58 minutes ago, adam said:

Here are the NFC North's draft picks from each team from 2022 and 2023 with an AV of 5 or more, with an honorable mention for a 2023 pick with AV of 4.

This is how each team did:

GB (9) - 14 picks in the first 5 rounds, 3 first rounders
2023 - Reed - 9, Wicks - 6, (Kraft - 4)
2022 - Walker - 13, Watson - 11, Doubs - 11, Tom - 12, Enagbare - 7, Walker - 10

DET (8) - 12 picks in the first 5 rounds, 4 first rounders
2023 - Gibbs - 10, Campbell - 5, LaPorta - 9, (Branch - 4)
2022 - Hutchinson - 18, Williams - 5, Joseph - 10, Rodriguez - 8

CHI (6) - 13 picks in the first 5 rounds, 1 first rounder
2023 - Wright - 8, Stevenson - 6, (Roschon - 4)
2022 - Jones - 13, Brisker - 9, Gordon - 7

MIN (3) - 12 picks in the first 5 rounds, 2 first rounders
2023 - Addison - 7
2022 - Ingram - 13, Evans - 6

So a few things stand out. Detroit having 4 first rounders in 2 years really helped a ton. 6 of their 8 high AV players were drafted in the first 45 picks. GB is almost the polar opposite. Only 2 out of their 5 picks in the top 42 hit. They made their money between the late 2nd and 5th rounds.

The Bears were clearly hurt by not having 2 first rounders, but Poles still got Brisker and Gordon in the 2nd. His big hit is Jones who may be replaced next year. Stevenson is listed but is probably not even a starter anymore and Roschon is nothing more than an RB2 or RB3. So Wright and Gordon may end up being all they get out of these drafts in a year or two (assuming Brisker's health). That is not good. To have sustained success you have to have 3-4 players contribute per draft year. 

Somehow Minnesota is good without any good drafts in recent years. This will catch up to them eventually because the bulk of their players are coming out of their rookie deals. The new GM really inherited a lot of good players. They were never in a full rebuild like the Bears were, but it is still shocking to see only 3 players on the list. 

 

Thr first 3 rounds is where you find your most starter caliber players.  2023 1st round Wright, 2022 and 23 2nd round picks Brisker- Gordon-Dexter-Stevenson,  2022 3rd round V Jones was a bust but 2023 Zach Pickens judgemnt hasnt been decided yet due to injuries this yr. 5 hits- 1 bust and 1 still under review. that doesnt seeen like its bad drafting to me. 4th qnd 5th rounds has a lot of misses to them. Yet R. johnson , Braxton Jones  and Terrell Smith have been big contribters. In 2022 and 2023 he also brought in Bagent, Sanborn,Eligha Hicks, Jaylon Jones that have all logged good snaps .

[ASHKUM BEAR]

2 hours ago, adam said:

Here are the NFC North's draft picks from each team from 2022 and 2023 with an AV of 5 or more, with an honorable mention for a 2023 pick with AV of 4.

This is how each team did:

GB (9) - 14 picks in the first 5 rounds, 3 first rounders
2023 - Reed - 9, Wicks - 6, (Kraft - 4)
2022 - Walker - 13, Watson - 11, Doubs - 11, Tom - 12, Enagbare - 7, Walker - 10

DET (8) - 12 picks in the first 5 rounds, 4 first rounders
2023 - Gibbs - 10, Campbell - 5, LaPorta - 9, (Branch - 4)
2022 - Hutchinson - 18, Williams - 5, Joseph - 10, Rodriguez - 8

CHI (6) - 13 picks in the first 5 rounds, 1 first rounder
2023 - Wright - 8, Stevenson - 6, (Roschon - 4)
2022 - Jones - 13, Brisker - 9, Gordon - 7

MIN (3) - 12 picks in the first 5 rounds, 2 first rounders
2023 - Addison - 7
2022 - Ingram - 13, Evans - 6

So a few things stand out. Detroit having 4 first rounders in 2 years really helped a ton. 6 of their 8 high AV players were drafted in the first 45 picks. GB is almost the polar opposite. Only 2 out of their 5 picks in the top 42 hit. They made their money between the late 2nd and 5th rounds.

The Bears were clearly hurt by not having 2 first rounders, but Poles still got Brisker and Gordon in the 2nd. His big hit is Jones who may be replaced next year. Stevenson is listed but is probably not even a starter anymore and Roschon is nothing more than an RB2 or RB3. So Wright and Gordon may end up being all they get out of these drafts in a year or two (assuming Brisker's health). That is not good. To have sustained success you have to have 3-4 players contribute per draft year. 

Somehow Minnesota is good without any good drafts in recent years. This will catch up to them eventually because the bulk of their players are coming out of their rookie deals. The new GM really inherited a lot of good players. They were never in a full rebuild like the Bears were, but it is still shocking to see only 3 players on the list. 

 

The safest picks are usually oline and dline, which need to become a serious consideration every draft.  As Jason says, a great oline can make a mediocre RB a great one.