A new era of Chicago Bears football began when former Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles was hired to be the Bears general manager in January of 2022. In his time with Chicago, Poles has made several moves to attempt to improve the Bears roster at every position. As with all general managers, Poles has made moves that will come with praise and criticism. Both of which are completely warranted. Ryan Poles made his biggest splash when it came to trading away the first overall pick in 2023 to Carolina, acquiring several draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore.
The Panthers first-round pick ended up being the 2024 first-overall pick, further strengthening the trade’s perception. While D.J. Moore is an excellent wide receiver, Poles has yet to identify a player at the position of his own selection that can be considered a success.
It’s still relatively early in Poles’ tenure with Chicago, but so far the results have been lackluster at wide receiver overall. Chicago Bears
General Manager Ryan Poles Can’t Evaluate This Position
Drafted Receivers
2022 NFL Draft
Round 3, Pick 71 – Velus Jones Jr. – University of Tennessee
Velus Jones Jr. was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was lauded as a quick prospect who can track the football with ease but has more production on special teams. Largely, that’s what he’s been for Chicago. The Tennessee product struggled early with turnovers, but has since cleaned that up. Jones Jr. has only racked up 127 receiving yards and 154 rushing yards in his short career.
In regard to special teams, the numbers have improved. He’s averaged 521 return yards per season and 27.4 yards per return. Jones Jr. ranked 5th in kick return yards this season and 9th in returns at 16, per the NFL’s website.
Jones Jr. has fallen well short of expectations for a third-round pick if viewed at the receiver position. However, as a returner, the value is there.
New #Bears WR WR Velus Jones ran a 4.3 40 at the draft. Another speedster for Fields pic.twitter.com/uIpY6seihM
— Bears Nation (@BearsNationCHI) April 30, 2022
2023 NFL Draft
Round 4, Pick 133 – Tyler Scott, University of Cincinnati
Tyler Scott in his rookie season showed his ability to be a deep threat with his blazing speed and knack for creating separation. However, Scott struggled mightily with drops in crucial moments throughout 2023. This was knock on him coming out of college, but he is young at 22 so development obviously isn’t out of the question.
It’s never fair to write off rookie wide receivers and Scott has shown play-making ability for Chicago. The Bears will likely increase Scott’s role in 2024 with wide receiver Darnell Mooney’s future uncertain with the team. As a result, look for the young receiver to flip his narrative next season.
Free Agent Acquisitions
2022 Free Agency
Byron Pringle, Kansas City Chiefs
Byron Pringle was Poles’ first free agent wide receiver acquisition of his Bears tenure and a move that widely missed the mark. His last year with Kansas City saw Pringle log just under 600 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the year. Unfortunately, Pringle didn’t record even a quarter of that yardage with the Bears. The former Chief would play eleven games for Chicago and finish the year with just ten receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
For an already weak unit in 2022, Pringle did little to no favors for Chicago in 2022.
Equanimeous St. Brown, Green Bay Packers
Equanimeous St. Brown has been a rollercoaster in his time with Chicago. The former Packer has had crucial drops in past seasons, an inability to stay healthy, and has largely been unproductive. His redeeming quality is his ability to block on the perimeter and ability to extend drives from time to time. St. Brown was extended to a one-year deal in January of 2023 and is an unrestricted free agent this year. St. Brown had ties to former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and was signed largely due to familiarity with the system Getsy ran.
In brief, his future with the team remains uncertain and his time with Chicago has been mostly ineffective.
Wide Receiver Trades
2022
N’Keal Harry, New England Patriots
Let’s preface this by saying N’Keal Harry was acquired in 2022 via trading a 2024 seventh-round selection to New England. In totality, the move was always low-risk. Nevertheless, Harry’s short stint in Chicago was bogged by injury, missing the first eight weeks of the season in 2022. The former first-round selection has been unable to stay healthy wherever he’s been. Despite this, Bears fans fondly remember Harry’s 49-yard grab over top of Green Bay’s star corner Jaire Alexander.
Don’t think the #Patriots expected a N’Keal Harry deep ball beating Jaire Alexander type catch when they traded him to the #Bears pic.twitter.com/MTqOaLgk4w
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 4, 2022
A nice consolation prize for again, a low-risk move that didn’t pan out.
Chase Claypool, Pittsburgh Steelers
Far and away the biggest “swing and a miss” move made by Ryan Poles as general manager. Chicago opted to trade away an early second-round selection to Pittsburgh for the young receiver out of Notre Dame. In hindsight, Chase Claypool had production early with Pittsburgh, but didn’t mesh well with Mike Tomlin. The Bears desperately needed receiver help and Claypool was the best available option. Claypool’s character concerns and lack of production plagued an already struggling team.
After Chicago’s Week 5 win against the Commanders this season, Claypool was shipped off to Miami for a 2025 fifth-round pick and gained a 2025 sixth in return.
Chase Claypool’s final stats as a Bear:
• 10 games
• 18 rec
• 191 yards
• 1 TD pic.twitter.com/QySin4spW0— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 6, 2023
D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers
Conversely, wide receiver D.J. Moore has been the home run this franchise needed at the position. Acquired in trading the number one overall pick to Carolina, Moore set career highs with Chicago in 2023 and has become the Bears number one option. Not much else can be said about Moore aside from his play-making ability and his skill after the catch. The 26 year old receiver gives the Bears a true threat on offense and if built around, Moore can become even more dangerous.
While Poles obviously didn’t draft Moore, he did identify his skillset could help elevate this team’s offense.
Other notable additions: Dante Pettis, Nsimba Webster, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Trent Taylor
Going on his third year as general manager, Ryan Poles has more often than not missed the mark when it comes to the wide receiver position. Depending on how he handles Darnell Mooney this offseason, along with the development of Tyler Scott, Poles can either flip the narrative or continue this trend. High draft capital ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft also plays a critical factor in this perceived evaluation.
Main Photo: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
