Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles revealed a key trait he wants for the quarterback position in the 2024 NFL draft
The Chicago Bears did make a few changes on Wednesday, just days after another loss to rival Green Bay wrapped up the 2023 season. Despite a 7-10 finish, the Bears will retain Matt Eberflus but are moving on from Luke Getsy and a handful of other offensive assistant coaches.
Now, as they move forward into the offseason there are still a lot of questions left to be answered and the biggest one is at quarterback.
Chicago holds No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL draft for the second straight year and in position to have their pick of any quarterback in this class. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are all considered the top prospects in this class and Chicago could choose to take one of them. However, they still have Justin Fields for at least another year and can pickup the fifth year option.
On Wednesday, Poles offered up a trait that he is looking for while scouting quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL draft and it’s not all about talent.
“The person. That’s the biggest part,” Poles said when asked about the most important part of studying quarterbacks. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in our ability to see talent on the field. The human being we’ve got to figure out.”
Bears GM Ryan Poles: the process is similar to last year with the QBs and the first pick. He needs to be blown away. He specifically mentions that it’s not just the tape but the person, too.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) January 10, 2024
The Bears big decision for the 2024 NFL draft
As stated above, the Bears have a big decision to make. Do they run it back with Fields and decide to trade No. 1 overall for a haul in the 2024 NFL draft? Or do they take a quarterback like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels to reset the quarterback clock?
Poles plans on doing the full evaluation on every quarterback in this draft. Evaluations have already begun with scouting and it will continue at the scouting combine, pro days, and much more. It’s a long process but gives teams the ability to not only scout the skill set of a player but the personality as well.
For Williams, there have been reports of character concerns, whether it’s true or made up on social media through videos or whatever. However, there are reports of his teammates loving him as not only a player but a person as well, specifically from this Pro Football Focus story with USC receivers Dorian Singer and Mario Williams:
It also doesn’t hurt that they’re catching passes from the best player in the nation. When describing what makes Williams so special, they both pointed to off-field reasons rather than his dominance on the gridiron.
“He gets us going,” Singer said. “Whatever he says, his voice is so powerful. If he told us to run through a brick wall, 10 guys would run through a brick wall for him.”
“He listens,” Williams said. “Not all quarterbacks listen to their receivers. He’s also a great player, a great person. We got along, and we both are rooting for each other to do our best. He believed in me without really knowing me [at first].”
Last year, Poles passed up on Bryce Young, CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson. While Young struggled, Stroud really took off helping lead the Houston Texans to the playoffs. He can’t afford to miss on one of these prospects in the 2024 NFL draft as he has to get it right to finally solve this quarterback dilemma in Chicago.
It’s going to be a very interesting offseason ahead with the 2024 NFL draft and free agency looming. And one that the Bears have to make sure they get right to stop this losing especially after opting to bring back Matt Eberflus as head coach.
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