[ad_1]
Prospect interviews helped gauge Poles’ interest in the No. 1 pick when it first appeared on NBC Sports Chicago.
Ryan Poles plays chess, not checkers.
Before completing the trade with the Carolina Panthers and handing over the Bears’ coveted first draft pick, Pauls did the math and did the math.
As it happened, I was interviewed for the Panthers general manager position before Scott Fiterer took the job. He knew owner David Tepper wanted a quarterback. badly.
He also knew the fitter from his old scouting days with the Kansas City Chiefs. Their strong and professional relationship helped the duo execute the deal.
But it was also Paul’s prospect interviews that helped him gauge interest from other teams. Depending on how well players spoke in interviews, the Poles could gauge how much a team wanted a particular prospect.
“If they interviewed really well, I knew at that point the team would be more motivated to get something done sooner rather than later,” Pauls said. athletic.
Related: Report: Ryan Poles asked Kyle Davidson for advice
And as he noted, the Poles sooner or later chose. The Bears and Panthers completed the trade in his early March, seven weeks ahead of him in the NFL Draft. In common tradedown practice, the longer a team waits to tradedown, the more rewards they receive through leverage.
But when the Bears bought picks weeks before the draft after the NFL consolidation, they jeopardized their chances of grabbing a bigger compensation package. Long ago, they traded time and their most obvious goal for the luxury of notching (trading the No. 1 pick).
Still, the Bears received a sizeable return thanks to the information the Poles gleaned.
They took the No. 9 and No. 61 picks in their next draft, getting a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025, and wide receiver DJ Moore. The Bears requested either Moore, Brian Barnes or Derrick Brown.
Thus, the Bears were freer to attack free agency with a more detailed plan than if they hadn’t traded wide receivers and extra draft capital. They chose linebackers, running backs and starting right guards in the open market.
If Pauls hadn’t looked at every angle, analyzed every possible data, and trusted his decision-making, the Bears wouldn’t have made the trade with the Panthers. Part of that was talking to players to gauge their potential interest.
“Their interview was very good,” said Pauls. “Mentally, they are in a very good place to talk about the ball and what they know about the game. Football intelligence never seemed to be an issue. ”
Click here to follow the Under Center podcast.
[ad_2]
Source link
