Ryan Poles has achieved redemption with his offseason offensive line acquisitions

At the end of the 2024 season, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was under intense scrutiny for the team’s lackluster talent and depth along the offensive line. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times, as Chicago had immense and recurring issues on the offensive line, especially at the interior positions.

Nearly two months later and less than an hour into Monday’s free agency period, Poles has completely overhauled the Bears’ o-line with three proven and seasoned interior linemen that now gives the team one of the best line units in the NFL.

Ryan Poles overhauled Chicago’s offensive line

As the 2024 Bears’ season progressed, Poles began to garner more and more deserved criticism for not only his failed offensive line acquisitions but his handling of the offense as a whole. This included the approval of the hiring of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was fired midway through the year, along with offensive guard Nate Davis being released halfway through an expensive three-year contract.

Bringing on linemen such as Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton, and Matt Pryor as interior linemen who were expected to bring depth and some improved talent, completely flopped for Ryan Poles.

Not only did Poles oversee an offensive line that played a role in Williams being sacked over 68 times, but the line also allowed the most unblocked quarterback pressure. Chicago’s quarterback was sacked six or more times in five games, all of which were losses.

Analysts questioned if Ryan Poles deserved another offseason since he had not added multiple quality offensive linemen, despite having been in the role as general manager for three seasons prior.

With the hiring of former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator as the Bears’ head coach in January, there was added pressure on Ryan Poels to improve the offensive line this offseason, especially with Kansas City Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith expected to reach free agency.

Despite the Chiefs tagging Smith a week a half ago, Poles still was able to impressively overhaul Chicago’s starting offensive line by trading for former Pro Bowler Jonah Jackson and All-Pro Joe Thuney while signing free agent center Drew Dalman on Monday. In over one week, the Bears added three interior starters who have been or are currently seen as top-tier talents at their respective positions.

Poles understands what is at stake

The acquisition of all three offensive linemen demonstrates Poles’ ability to understand what was at stake and his ability to respond to unexpected hardships, including Smith coming off the free agency board at the last moment.

Trading a mid and late-round selection over the next two years enabled Chicago to add to Pro Bowl-level starters in Jackson and Thuney, who have blocked for future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford and Patrick Mahomes. Dalman is seen as one of the league’s best true centers, something that the Bears have lacked since Ryan Poles became general manager back in 2022.

Even more impressive regarding the sudden and decisive overhaul of Chicago’s offensive line is the fact that many analysts and fans expected Poles to renovate the line through the NFL Draft. Although the Bears still could look to add depth via next month’s draft, it is apparent that Ryan Poles wants to avoid having to rely on inexperienced talent being leaned on to protect Caleb Williams.

By adding three proven and elite-level interior offensive linemen, Poles has also improved the play of Chicago’s two offensive tackles with Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones. There was a consistent debate on whether or not Jones and Wright struggled in 2024, as some fans believed the pair was trying to do too much from a pass protection standpoint to compensate for the interior line issues.

Following the week of activity by Poles, the starting tackles’ are in a much better position to succeed due to not having to worry about protecting Williams from any interior pass rush.

Poles  addressed the Chicago Bears long-term offensive concerns

The key aspect to adding the three interior linemen via trades and free agency is that Poles is looking to maximize Williams’ rookie contract while also accounting for Chicago’s long-term salary cap space health too.

The Bears avoid having to rely on a rookie offensive lineman’s potential struggles causing issues in pass or run blocking, hindering the overall success of the offense. Johnson and William can now focus on executing the offensive scheme without the fear of issues arising due to inexperience or an unexpected lack of talent due to the wrong draft projection being made.

Poles now can add offensive line prospects in the 2025, 2026, and 2027 NFL Drafts and allows the prospects to be fully acclimated into Chicago’s new offense without the fear of their growth being rushed immediately.

The only way a lineman prospect drafted in this year’s draft would be forced into starting action this year is if a signification injury transpires, compared to last year, where players were being forced into starting due to inept play.

Although Thuney and Jackson have one year remaining on their current deals, Ryan Poles will likely extend them to match Williams’ rookie contract that will run through 2029 if the team chooses to pick up his fifth-year option.

With Dalman’s contract being three years in length too, it appears that Poles wants to win immediately with these moves before Chicago has to re-sign Williams to what likely will be an elite-level contract extension. Ryan Poles will likely want to have multiple young linemen in position, who are on rookie deals themselves, to take over when the Bears have to re-sign their quarterback.

Ryan Poles has now given himself three to four years to add to Chicago’s offensive line to make sure they are in a solid place when the team has legitimate salary cap restraints after Williams is extended in 2029.

Facing immense and justified criticism for past roster decisions at the offensive line positions, Ryan Poles has redeemed himself within two months, adding three proven starters with only free agent signing and no draft selections spent.

Chicago has now gone from arguably the worst starting offensive line in 2024 to one of the best lines heading into 2025, which now gives Williams a huge success to develop in his second year at the quarterback position. If the Bears can be a playoff team in 2025 and the offense is significantly productive, it will be because of Poles’ concerted effort to overhaul the offensive line immediately and with the most talent.

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