Ryan Poles: Executive of the Year?

It only took three years for Ryan Poles' bold proclamation to come to fruition. Hey, better late than never, right? The Bears are currently alone atop the NFC North with a 7-3 record.

David Kaplan raised an interesting question on his ESPN 1000 radio show, Kap & J. Hood, on Friday. Should Poles contend for the NFL's Executive of the Year award for his role in their success?

Most would adamantly reject the notion. Ryan Poles doesn't exactly have a ton of fans among the Windy City faithful. However, removing all bias from the equation, I don't think it's nearly as preposterous as it might seem at first glance. Firstly, the award is given solely for this year. It doesn't factor in his 15-36 record over the first three years of his tenure, even if the dark days are difficult for fans to forget (and forgive).

I personally don't think their abysmal record was a proper indication of the talent on the roster over Poles' tenure (at least in 2023 and 2024, because they were all-around pitiful in 2022). They lacked talent along the trenches, but otherwise had a good nucleus of skill position players on both sides of the ball. What they majorly lacked, and Poles was also most to blame for this, was coaching. Matt Eberflus never should've been retained after they choked away three games in the '23 season, especially with a rookie QB in Caleb Williams coming aboard. He righted his wrong in that department (emphatically, I might add) with the hiring of Ben Johnson this offseason.

He lured Johnson, by far the hottest candidate of the 2025 coaching cycle, to Chicago, and it was apparently not even that difficult to do. That was a major testament to the roster he built. Johnson clearly saw there was something he could work with.

They still had some work to do, though. As I mentioned, the trenches still needed improvement, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They could've taken the easy path by addressing the weakness through the draft and free agency. Instead, they got creative.

They flipped a sixth-round pick to the Rams for Jonah Jackson, who struggled in his first season in Los Angeles but had experience playing under Johnson in Detroit. They also sent a fourth-round pick to Kansas City for four-time All-Pro and future Hall of Famer Joe Thuney, the very next day. Both of those moves were made before free agency even began, mind you.

They still had one more spot along the interior to patch up. They did that through free agency with the signing of center Drew Dalman, whose experience in a zone blocking scheme with the Falcons made him a perfect fit for Johnson's offense. The left tackle spot has also been manned by 2024 undrafted free agent Theo Benedet (a testament to Poles and Chicago's scouting staff) since Week Four. How has the new line held up this season? In short, they've been marvelous.

The revamped offensive line has only allowed 16 sacks on Caleb Williams after he got sacked a league-high 68 times (tied for third-most in NFL history) last season. Poles' first first-round pick, 2023 tenth-overall pick Darnell Wright, also deserves much credit in that department. He's developed into one of the league's best tackles this season. While on that topic, how has Chicago's 2025 NFL Draft performed this season?

For starters, tenth overall pick Colston Loveland has really begun heating up recently. He has 251 receiving yards over the past four games and has shown flashes of being a rare weapon at the tight end position. It feels safe to say they made the right choice there, regardless of what Tyler Warren is doing in Indianapolis.

Luther Burden III also looks every bit like the player they thought they were getting when they selected him with the 39th pick. Some believe he might have the highest ceiling of anyone in Chicago's (loaded) receiver room. Another hit.

The jury's still out on the Bears' third pick in this year's class, 56th overall pick Ozzy Trapilo. However, he can effectively be considered a disappointment thus far, as he struggled to make the jump to left tackle. They followed that selection up with the selection of Shemar Turner, who showed flashes before suffering a torn ACL against Baltimore, six picks later. A mixed bag through the first two days of the draft, but promising overall.

They also landed one of the drafts biggest steals with the selection of Kyle Monangai at 233rd overall in the seventh round. The rook put the team on his back against Cincinnati and has made the most of every opportunity he's received.

Most recently, they also made the shrewd midseason pickup of CJ Gardner-Johnson when they were in dire need of a playmaker in the secondary after placing Kyler Gordon on (short-term) Injured Reserve a few weeks ago. You could make a case that he's been their best defensive player since putting pen to paper.

If the Bears continue finding ways to win games and lead the NFC North (arguably the most competitive division in the NFL) when all is said and done, then I fully support him winning Executive of the Year. I'm old enough to remember when Ryan Pace won the award for his efforts in crafting their 2018 roster, and this team is seemingly more set up for long-term success (considering this one didn't mortgage their future draft capital on a game-wrecking pass-rusher) than that one was.

I personally don't think they have to hold onto the division lead for the season to be considered a success. Not with six out of seven of their remaining matchups being against teams with a winning record, anyway. They don't need to come out of the gauntlet with a 12-5 record for me to be happy with how this season turned out. I'd be thrilled with a 10-7 record and Wild Card birth. They only won five games last season, after all.

With that said, they would have to keep winning for Poles to be named Executive of the Year (that's the goal every front office has it's sights on at the end of the year, right?). If they do, I honestly think he deserves it.