Bears News: Ryan Poles details what factors went into blockbuster trade |
CHICAGO - The Bears’ front office has been making some big moves this offseason, highlighted by changing the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for wide receiver DJ Moore, No. 9 overall, No. 61 overall, a first-round pick in 2024 as well as a 2024 second-rounder.
It can sometimes be overlooked the number of people and the process that goes into these moves, but general manager Ryan Poles took some time to describe what went into the Moore trade and how many people were needed to make it happen. It was about three days into working with different teams to come up with the right scenario that we felt comfortable with,” Poles said. “It was calm and cool for a while and then it turned into pacing pretty much all day long. It’s so fluid. It shifts and changes all the time when you’re talking to different teams. Some teams are super aggressive, some are playing the gray and you kind of have to read between the lines.” Working with different teams, there were a lot of offers to consider. While Poles did not name the other teams he was communicating with, he made it clear that numerous teams were interested in the No. 1 overall pick. Obviously the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are among those that are in need of a quarterback but ultimately, they were not willing to pay the price that the Panthers were. “But at the end of the day, there was a team, that was Carolina, that kind of stuck with us through the whole process,” Poles said. “I knew from the jump that they were a team that really wanted their quarterback. They wanted to control the draft and that meant a lot to them. They got out in front early at the combine and I had a good relationship with their general manager, Scott Fitterer, and I felt like, at that time, it was best to close on the deal when we did instead of dragging it out.” Whether teams were willing to trade players also impacted the speed at which this deal was reached. If you are going to get a player in a trade, that changes the entire complex of your strategy going into free agency. Wide receiver was an essential part of what Chicago lacked last season and although adding some depth wouldn’t hurt them, acquiring Moore put them in a much better position going forward. “We knew if teams were willing to trade players, that affected free agency which was just around the corner. That changes your equation in terms of how much you can spend because you’re taking on a player that already has a contract set up,” Poles said. “So, that also provided a deadline to incentivize teams to do things quicker rather than drag it out all the way through the draft.” Poles also wanted to acknowledge all of the people that go into such a blockbuster trade. The use of analytics is incredibly important in the world of football today. The Director of Football Administration, Krithi Chandrakasan, was one influential factor in this trade. Analytics are collected on players, even those on other teams, throughout the entire season for this very purpose. Other factors that are looked at are ties to Chicago and to people currently playing or coaching in the organization. It’s part of the strategy to get the right players for the Bears, as described by Matt Feinstein, the director of Football Administration. “It’s players who want to be here,” Feinstein said. “It’s players who really like the schemes that our coaches run and so that enables us to really help figure out who’s interested in being a Bear, who likes the culture.” One essential part of the strategy for Chicago is getting the best players for the team, which may not always be the players who are statistically the best. It’s about creating one cohesive unit that will win football games this fall. “You know, at the end of the day when you walk away from the trade, what makes you the most proud is the work that went into it,” Poles said. “We have a group of guys, our pro staff, those evaluations start in September and go all the way through the year … Even in the trade scenario when guys aren’t free agents, you got to know where the impact players are.”
