Ryan Poles’ 5 worst moves as Bears GM

The 2026 season will mark Ryan Poles' fifth season as general manager of the Chicago Bears. Things are trending in the right direction for his regime, seeing as though the Bears won the NFC North last year and won their first playoff game since the 2010-11 season.

There's been a lot of good to come from Poles' tenure as Chicago's general manager, and we'll break down his best moves in a future article. For the sake of fairness, though, we're starting off by highlighting some of the mistakes he's made.

It hasn't been a flawless tenure for Poles, which could be assuming seeing as though it took him until Year 5 to make the playoffs. Again, it's worth noting that there's a lot of positivity around the Bears' organization right now, as there should be. But as we approach half of a decade with him in the role, it's fair to provide balanced commentary and analysis.

Honorable Mentions

• Drafting Kiran Amegadjie in Round 3
• Hiring Matt Eberflus
• Signing Grady Jarrett to a three-year, $42.75 million deal

Amegadjie is an honorable mention because he's still on the roster, as opposed to the other draft picks on this list (spoiler alert). I'm going to give him one more offseason, though Chicago's deeper offensive tackle could make it tougher for him to make the 53-man roster in 2026.

Eberflus was obviously a terrible selection to be the Bears' head coach, but Poles was forced to choose between the three finalists that were identified by Chicago's search committee before Poles even became hired. Dan Quinn was clearly the best of the bunch, but none of the three were incredibly encouraging. Eberflus' entry on this list comes with a major asterisk, which is why it doesn't crack the top five.

Jarrett only had 1.5 sacks in his first season with the Bears, but his contract is slightly cheaper than another disappointing free agent signing from 2025.

5) Drafting Zacch Pickens in Round 3

Though technically a third-round pick, Zacch Pickens was basically a second-round pick as the No. 64 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, due to a forfeiting first-round pick by the Dolphins. He only lasted two seasons in Chicago, starting in just three games for some bad Bears defenses. He tallied a combined 1.5 sacks and 18 pressures in that time, having been released before the 2025 season in preseason cutdowns.

Pickens was a freak athlete during his time at South Carolina, but he was a raw technician who never quite developed his pad level and pass-rushing diversity properly.

4) Selecting Velus Jones Jr. in Round 3

The selection of Velus Jones Jr. in Round 3 was a major surprise to begin with, seeing as though he turned 25 years old just after the 2022 NFL Draft and took until his sixth year in college to put together meaningful collegiate production. The Bears needed contributors at wide receiver, but taking a raw, older prospect that early didn't make sense. Jones would only have 12 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown during his time in Chicago.

He switched to running back heading into 2024, signaling defeat in developing him as a receiving threat. He was also selected early because of his return capabilities, but he didn't return a kick or punt for a touchdown and fumbled four returns. Jones' fumbled kickoff in Week 1 of the 2024 season made him a healthy scratch and saw him eventually released in the middle of the season.

3) Signing Dayo Odeyingbo to a three-year, $48 million deal

Dayo Odeyingbo has only played one year of his three-year deal, so there's a chance he's able to turn things around and work his way off this list. However, if his 2026 campaign is similar to his 2025 season, he'll likely work his way up to No. 2 on this list. The Bears signed Odeyingbo to a deal worth $16 million AAV, and his first year with the team saw him tally just one sack in eight games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Odeyingbo's injury prevented him from having a chance to bounce back, though it would've been tough to do worse than he did in 2025. In addition to just the one sack, he only had 10 pressures in said eight games, and his 8.4% pass-rush win rate tied for 80th among the 94 edge rushers with 200 or more pass-rushing snaps. There's an out in his contract in the 2027 offseason, so if he doesn't bounce back, he's probably as good as gone.

2) Signing Nate Davis to a three-year, $30 million deal

When our own Bill Zimmerman reported that Nate Davis wasn't well regarded in the Titans' locker room, that should've been enough to sound the alarm bells. However, he was only 26 years old when the Bears signed him, and he appeared to be ascending since entering the NFL in 2019. There was optimism for a team that needed interior offensive line help.

That said, Davis failed to become the solution Chicago needed at guard. He regressed in his first year with the team, finishing 2023 ranked No. 47 among all NFL guards in PFN OL Impact Scoring that year, translated to a below-average starter ranking. He started the first two games of 2024 but was eventually benched, became a healthy scratch, and got released in November of that year. Davis seemingly had no desire to participate in practice during his time with the Bears.

1) Trading a second-round pick for Chase Claypool

Poles is very lucky that the Bears are good now, because his decision to trade a second-round pick for Chase Claypool - a pick that ended up being the No. 32 pick, which the Steelers used on stalwart cornerback Joey Porter Jr. - has aged as one of the worst NFL trades in recent memory.

The Bears needed production at wide receiver, and Claypool did not give them that. In seven games for Chicago in 2022, he only had 14 catches for 140 yards and no touchdowns, averaging out to 20.0 receiving yards per game. His production got even worse in 2023, as he had just four receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown in three games to begin the year for the Bears. Claypool began vocally criticizing the coaching staff for his usage, which was ironic considering his noted lack of effort.

Less than one calendar year after being traded for the No. 32 pick, Claypool got traded to the Dolphins along with a 2025 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick. The trade was a total disaster and remains the biggest stain on Poles' legacy.