(670 The Score) New Bears general manager Ryan Poles was a key figure in a Chiefs front office that has had great success in the NFL Draft over the past decade.
So how can Poles replicate that success in Chicago? At his introductory press conference Monday at Halas Hall, Poles emphasized that building through the draft is his biggest priority with the Bears, and he also detailed his philosophy for doing so.
“We’re going to build through the draft,” Poles said. “We’re going to acquire young, fast and physical football players.
“In terms of building through the draft, I think what’s key is one, knowing what scheme you’re running and finding players that fit. That’s first and foremost. I think a lot of players get missed, if I bring someone in, going against what we’re running, well then it’s not tied together and that’s hard to fit. The types of players, in terms of their background, what they’re about, how passionate they are about football is important too. That’s the other place where misses can happen is in terms of do they love football? Because this is hard. This is really hard. Being a player is very hard. You got to love it to get up in the morning and be the best that you can be.
“And then the piece I hit on earlier in terms of evaluation – you’ve got to be able to prioritize certain positions because of supply and demand and place them on the board where you can get them. I think that’s the other important part.”
Poles also answered a question about how much influence he had in the Chiefs’ evaluation of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whom they traded up to select at No. 10 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.
“In terms of Pat, listen, even in the interview process I said this – I’m not taking credit for any player,” Poles said. “The beautiful thing of the process that I’m coming from and it will be the process here, it’s a group effort. We all get in a room. We’re going to start here shortly. We watch tape, and it’s open. And I mentioned candor. We’re going to be candid. We want to challenge each other without being disrespectful, and that’s the only way to get to the truth. That process was special. A lot of people spoke up (about Mahomes). There’s different factors that went into it. So I’ll give credit to the process.”