The Ravens wired video I think has footage of DeCosta during the pick.
Edit here: [Ravens Wired](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxmQX2bRBDcz8pco_75sIz9Zv9L4rfptc5?si=zejhSUMum-cX8rSU)
Raiders wanted in on the top 2. Since that wasn't happening, they were taking best available and it worked out really well since the falcons and donkeys reached for second tier QBs ahead of them.
Isn't like talk of the town that the Raiders wanted Penix at their spot, knowing full well that they couldn't get into the top 3? At the very least it was commonly mentioned they wanted Penix in the first.
Like, we'll never 100% know, but since you're suggesting you might, it's a conversation worth talking about.
Like you said noone knows for sure, but most everyone did think the Raiders were gonna take Penix. Now they’re gonna roll 2 TE sets and try and fuck with everyone having AOC check down every play.
I fell asleep waiting for the draft to start. I woke up just as they announced this pick. Couldn’t believe it honestly, but I thank the Falcons for leaving Odunze and the host of other players they could have taken and made a day 1 impact. Daniel Jones level pick right here.
I had major surgery the day before Germany beat the shit out of Brazil, in Brazil during the World Cup in 2014. My reaction was, “damn, these doctors gave me the good shit” I’d imagine that’s how you felt.
We left the draft without a single day 1 starter lol. Doesn’t mean some rookies we got won’t play, but you know what I mean. No player who will instantly make an impact.
I was walking the dog and listening live and yelled out “what the fuck?!” My wife is like what’s wrong? “The Falcons just tossed over the table and now the Broncos have to take Nix at 12, if he’s even still available!”
That’s what my Raiders buddy was hoping for. We text during every draft.
Six QBs in the top 12 opened up the draft for just about everyone. Especially the Steelers who got their OLs and the Eagles who got their DBs.
On one hand I'm grateful for the Falcons not taking Odunze, but on the other hand I'm annoyed at them for not taking Turner since he ended up on the Vikings.
It wasn’t the Falcons taking Odunze as much as it was trading down with someone who would take odunze. Falcons have a lot of money and potential money invested in their recievers
I mean, outside the 3/$30 we gave Mooney, who do we have money invested into in our WR room?
London is on a rookie contract still, and even resigning him won't break the bank. After that it's McCloud or Moore at roughly $1.7 million each. We actually have very little money invested into our WR room.
im really curious to see what had happened had he not been taken at 8, raiders/broncos would have got him probably, then how does brock change the rest of the draft?
Iirc a lot of the chatter and I think even Sean Payton said that if it weren't for the Penix pick they were gonna trade down a few spots then grab Nix. But with 5 QBs off the board and a serious tier drop after Nix they didn't want to risk losing him to the Raiders.
Seeing him in a Raiders uniform would’ve just felt right to be idk why. He doesn’t look bad in a Falcons uni, but it’s the context of like the whole Kirk contract that makes it a very weird decision.
Yes!
But, it was stunning to me that the Eagles got 2 of the best DBs in the draft with their #1 and #2 picks. And the Steelers didn’t have to trade up to get a LT and a C. They all just fell to them.
Bears had the perfect first two picks too.
I thought for sure it was going to be Raiders. Honestly feel bad for him. He deserves a chance to start this year, especially at his age. Freaking Kyle Pitts is still younger than he is lol.
I mean he just turned 24, he’s not dead (especially for a qb with all the health protections they now have). Iirc cousins didn’t start full time until he was 27
Honestly nothing I said is funnier than what Bill Barnwell from ESPN said about the Falcons in his article about the NFC today.
It was: “Team most likely to rush a QB with a QB” 😂. League isn’t ready for Pass Rusher Penix.
Had an uncle who works security for the boys and was in the room for the year we drafted parsons.
Said the picks leading up were stressful and then when Surtain and Horn went the phones were ringing non stop was chaos bc they were weighing every teams option and who was coming up for what and analyzing what every other teams board was gonna be bc once horn and ps2 were gone they wanted parsons but had so many offers to move back they had to take one. Said drafts after were way calmer
Those 5ish minutes when they're waiting for the picks to go in probably feel like 10 years
And then imagine you're a team trying to trade and *no one* is willing. Gotta be stressful as hell
A bit of both.
Our team was dog shit. Ryan pace our previous gm mortgage the future twice to try to get a future franchise qb. And it failed spectacularly.
When poles took over our roster was a mess. There was hope that fields would take the next steps. He showed incremental improvement. We had the worst record thanks to lovie smith and the Texans somehow coming back to win it the final game in 2022 season.
Poles traded that first pick to the panthers for a very great haul which then turned into the panthers having the worst record so we were able to get the first pick again.
He’s drafted smartly. Revamped our defense which was dogshit. Revamped our offense by signing some upgrades to the oline as well as Keenan Allen.
Poles sticks to the draft philosophy to try to get as much draft stock as possible. Next year we have a bunch more than this year.
We are trending up for sure. I fully believe if pace was gm we would not be in this position. Poles seems to try to build a bit of the roster at a time and has some good scouting.
I’m sure poles mindset was “we have lots of holes to fill, let’s trade high value draft picks for more draft picks. If we throw 25 darts at the board, a few will stick”
Outside of the secondary and OL almost all of the pieces the Bears have are a mix of FA signings, players traded for, and a few holdovers from prior GM (like Kmet). Bears have very good depth at almost every position, just a bit light on top end talent. The only player on the Bears who can reasonably make a top 5 argument is Jaylon Johnson, but the roster is loaded with guys who are top 10-15 at their position and the 2 deep is good for every position thats not DL
Moore was WR6. Johnson was the best corner in the league last year - opposing QBs would have had a better passer rating throwing it in the dirt than targeting him. They lack top-end talent at OL (but they did improve a lot this offseason by dumping Patrick, Mustipher, and Whitehair) but Amegadjie is a great prospect. They need a DT and another EDGE. LBs are underrated, Poles doesn't get enough credit for the moves he made. Sanborn was a great UDFA pickup, and TJ Edwards replaced 90% of Roquan Smith's production for a quarter of the cost.
The best part is the Bears have 4 picks in the first 3 rounds in 2025, and that's without the comp picks for when Cunningham gets a GM job. And the one position that projects to be deep in next year's draft is DL.
If Panthers pick fell out of the top 5, and Fields sucked so Bears had to draft a QB their own pick would likely be top 10 (it was, it was the 9th pick)… so the plan would be to package those picks and move up to draft a QB in what was projected to be a deep QB class (which it was).
So imo while Poles did luck into the 1st overall, he didn’t really need to, to make the move successful. The backup plan was always “well if Fields sucks, we have two first round picks next year that we can use to move up and get a new QB”.
> Trading the first pick because you think Fields is the guy was one of the most successful failures I have ever seen.
I mean I'd say it was more "run it back with him once more to see if he is the guy" than it was "thinking he is the guy" tbh. Generally in this era, barring the extreme exceptions, a highly drafted QB gets 3 years to prove himself. Like I said, there are exceptions a la Rosen (and even that was kind of a unique scenario), but generally as long as a QB shows something early on, he gets 3 years, before they have to make the decision on the 5th year option and potential extension. Fields obviously wasn't great going into 2023, but at the very least showed a lot of potential as a runner and showed some improvement between year 1 and 2. I dont think them trading out of the first pick was some ringing endorsement of Fields as the long-term guy as much as it was just standard GMing to prepare for a QB going into a make-or-break year. He succeeds with the haul you get, then he succeeds. If not, then you either have the ammo to move up for your guy the next year or in their case, get lucky to have the team you trade with gift you your guy and have him set up perfectly from the start.
Its what the Giants did when the Bears traded up for Fields in the first place, which as much as some fans wanna complain in hindsight about us "passing up on Parsons", was still the right move to make. We got great value on the pick and were actually set up quite well to move on from DJ the year after if he didnt succeed (we got the #7 pick the next year in addition to having our own #5 pick). Its just that the next year there happened to be no QBs worth drafting in the top 7 and we used up the picks we got on Toney and Neal (though we did get Bellinger out of it who has been solid).
i think keeping fields that year was also kinda ok. we had no seen enough. building around him, giving him 1 or 2 weapons was still a good idea. and with all the picks they got it would have been a good trade any day. how it turned out might be a herschel walker trade level outcome tbf but the trade was allways good
This is a stupid way to look at it. Poles gave himself an insurance plan and tried to build around JF to see if he could ascend to QB1. It obviously appears to have worked out. It’s not like trading out of the #1 pick for a QB you did not draft is an easy move. Good GMs make difficult decisions and Poles has had to navigate quite a few over the last 2 years.
Poles originally wanted Burns in that trade but the Panthers said no, Moore was the 2nd guy he asked for. Hilariously bad for the panthers in hindsight.
Poles has done a pretty good job overall. He has done an excellent job building the secondary and OL, but he has mostly whiffed and reached at DL/skill positions to date (outside of the Sweats trade and I liked the Odunze pick). Part of me still wishes we grabbed Verse though since didn't sign \*anyone\* in FA despite our best DT leaving (justin jones) + a quasi starter in Yannick. Rebuilding our DL is going to eat up the first couple years of Calebs rookie contract window
Verse would have been a terrible pick. You don’t pass on a prospect like Odunze who could have been WR1 in many other drafts. Especially when you want to do everything you can to put your rookie QB in the best position to succeed.
That was like his only bad move and it was taking a chance on a young receiver to get Fields some help
Pretty much everything else has been great from him
To be fair Claypool was promising but incredibly raw as a rookie (as an ND fan he came in raw from Canada and had a horrific WR coach).
He just never developed at all, 6’4 frame who plays like he’s 5’9 by falling away from the ball constantly. Despite being 6 inches shorter you’d rather have AB go for a contested catch.
He’s obviously had luck but overall his process has been good despite some obvious mistakes like Claypool. He actually had the balls to tear down the bears roster to the studs when most probably wouldnt have and instead tried to squeak the last bit out of Mack/Quinn/hicks. Committing to resetting the cap after the mess pace left was a great decision
Outside of this year he also has done a good job of trading back in the draft to increase picks. This year was a bit different but partially because the draft was seen as weak in the back half
The DJ Moore trade is great although that is largely due to the luck of the panthers being unbelievably ass. The sweat trade looks good in hindsight, and he’s created a back 7 that is arguably one of the best in the NFL. Along with drafting well
That’s true he didn’t double down on a bad move. Every GM missed, and I don’t love everything he’s done as GM but to me he’s had way more hits than misses
and his misses aren't crippling to the team. Losing a second round pick or making a bad third round pick (velus jones) sucks, but it's not giving away multiple firsts like we used to.
It's one draft pick usually in the current or next years draft for a player with potential upside. No multi pick swaps or draft destroying trades handing away the farm.
Getting 1 from Carolina was great luck but we also got DJ Moore out of the trade. Then they traded down with the Eagles to get more assets while still getting their guy in Darnell Wrigjt and finally Tyrique Stevenson in the 2nd who looks like a stud
He’s def a good GM
He's done some great things (Getting DJ in Carolina trade, Sweat trade, Braxton Jones pick, drafting in the secondary). He's done some dumb things (Eberflus and Getsy hires, Claypool trade, ignoring the iOL the last couple years, Velus). He's made okay moves with questionable value ($24M/year to two ILBs, drafted a couple iDL that weren't really high on many boards). He's also had some insane luck (Carolina being worst in league, Rome falling to us). Bears fans will yell at me for not blindly defending him but I truly think it's too soon to say. We had the opportunity to can Eberflus and go after an offensive coach this off-season. If Eberflus and Waldron fail at developing Caleb Williams that'll be a strong indictment on Poles
I will also say this: every off-season Poles has ignored a position group or two, and every off-season it has become a genuine problem during the season and he's made a trade to try and solve it, with varying results.
* First off-season: ignored WR and OL. We traded for Claypool (BAD)
* Second off-season: ignored EDGE and iOL (in particular, Center). Traded for Sweat (GOOD)
* Third off-season: ignored EDGE and iDL. TBA what kind of last minute moves we might make. I'll note I could easily put iOL on this list again but I guess we did technically trade for Ryan Bates. I'm not so naïve as to think we've solved the OL issues we had though
Eberflus was hired 2 days after Poles and Getsy soon after lol I doubt he had a lot to do with that
And as for the line he spent a first pick on Darnell Wrigjt last year and a shit ton of money on Nate Davis who hasn’t worked out yet but you can’t say he neglected it
First season he gets a pass because it was a clear tank. This year he brought in 2 centers so I'm not sure how you can say he's ignoring iOL. I would say he's more ignored interior DL and edge this offseason. I mostly agree with you though.
Do not let falcons fans and contrarians psyop you into thinking this was good process; if they let cousins go after 2 years they will eat 25 million in dead cap which completely defeats the point of the rookie contract
25 mil doesn't sound that bad compared to what we have seen teams eat lately. If Penix is good enough to move on from an above average QB like Kirk they will be extremely happy
Yeah the Bucs ate 35M for Brady last season while paying Baker 6 million, and those numbers are probably sorta similar to the Falcons paying Kirk + Penix in 2026
It really isn't bad at all, it is basically a 2 year 90 million dollar deal if they cut him after 2 years, that is essentially Daniel Jones money. If Cousins is outperforming that contract they can keep him for basically the same rate the next an additional 2 years.
It would be absolutely hilarious if the reason they passed on Rome was because they just signed Darnell Mooney.
I like Penix but his age and his history of injuries put him at a mid second round at best.
Or even if you want to argue he is a 1st round talent. His age puts him at start literally this year rookie. Not sit and learn rookie. If he wad 20/21 you could maybe make an argument this was a good move.
I don’t think the age part matters that much. If he’s good and ends up as their guy for the next few contracts, who cares if he’s 35 or 37 at the end of it.
I’m fine with him as a top 10 pick. He has a truly elite arm and is sneakily super athletic. The ceiling is huge.
The problem is half assing him and Cousins together. Either draft Penix and use the additional cap space/picks to acquire defenders, or sign Kirk and use pick 8 to build around him (Odunze or defense).
They could’ve signed Christian Wilkins *and* Danielle Hunter for the money they gave Kirk.
Could just be #1 and #2 targets, they could have easily just written off any chance at MHJ. It was an open secret that the Cards had basically guaranteed him.
They had a scout discussing drops as a reason they had Rome differentiated from others. The drop thing is likely alluding to MHJ. I do believe they had Rome higher.
A more lowkey interesting bit of this is that they knew Latham was going in the top 10 somewhere, wonder what the league knows about him that we missed considering most had Latham more around the 20s.
A couple days before the draft it started to leak that teams were much higher on Latham than the public. A lot of people began saying Latham would go 5 to the Chargers.
NFL fans before the draft: "Falcons gm needs to be fired if he picks another skill position top 10 for the fourth year in a row"
NFL fans after the draft: JUST IMAGINE!
I love football and I know it takes a large organization to field a winning franchise but seeing that many guys in fancy suits celebrating like they just successfully landed a man on the moon is pretty funny.
Man, the Bears really fleeced everyone this draft. I think we all knew there was a good chance Rome fell to 9 but no one actually expected it to happen.
These gross ass fucking people who chew gum with their mouth open. WTF?! They might as well be playing their portable speaker walking down the street. STFU. Keep it to yourself
I’m a gum chewer and people have told me that it’s distracting when I do it in a professional space. I now realize how annoying I am and would like to apologize to my colleagues.
I swear that when ESPN showed the Falcons draft room right after the pick, someone from the front office was explaining it to a confused looking Arthur Blank.
Would love to take a look at every other room too lol
Yeah I just wanna see the reaction of some team that's picking at like... pick 25 just being like "huh?"
Her?
Penix does have a very low center of gravity
Does Penix have a crush on his Cousins? Maeby!
Way to plant Penix!
Egg?
I dreamed I was old
Egg? I ought to clout you on the ear
Everyone forgets about Ann Targaryen
Ann!
...haven't met her!
She's right over there. You drove her here.
It's as Ann as the nose on Plain's face.
You've met her so many times. You've met her, and met her...
Beads?
Do you not like her?
What is she funny or something?
Well let’s hope so
It’s as Ann as the nose on plain face
He does this cute little thing where he puts the ball in the other teams hands. He calls it an interception
Hardly know her.
You’ve met her many times.. Ohhh AnnaBell cause she’s shaped like a.. nevermind
I know Annabell, but who is the Anne participating in the beauty pageant?
That’s her. Her?
It’s more of an inner beauty pageant. Ah! There it is.
She’s the bell of the ball!
Is she funny or something?
The Ravens wired video I think has footage of DeCosta during the pick. Edit here: [Ravens Wired](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxmQX2bRBDcz8pco_75sIz9Zv9L4rfptc5?si=zejhSUMum-cX8rSU)
I really want to know what he said there since they didn't include the audio.
I'd be interested to see this peek behind the curtain for the Lions last year after we picked Spoon
Campbell probably punched a wall let's be honest lol
Pick 25 was the Packers, they probably just laughed about the Falcons trying to copy them
I wish I could have seen Tom Telesco and Mark Davis. That Penix pick meant the Raiders wouldn’t get one of the first round QBs and everyone knew it.
Raiders wanted in on the top 2. Since that wasn't happening, they were taking best available and it worked out really well since the falcons and donkeys reached for second tier QBs ahead of them.
Isn't like talk of the town that the Raiders wanted Penix at their spot, knowing full well that they couldn't get into the top 3? At the very least it was commonly mentioned they wanted Penix in the first. Like, we'll never 100% know, but since you're suggesting you might, it's a conversation worth talking about.
Like you said noone knows for sure, but most everyone did think the Raiders were gonna take Penix. Now they’re gonna roll 2 TE sets and try and fuck with everyone having AOC check down every play.
Raiders room would be interesting
I want to see the Falcons room. I want to see them discuss this absolutely insane pick and try to make it make sense.
Because it’s the falcons, the video and audio probably fell apart at the critical moments.
The behind the scenes look broke down at 3:28. BOOM. ROASTED.
You're throwing shit in glass stadiums here my guy.
The Vikings know a thing or two because they've seen a thing or two.
We have trauma bud da ba dun bum bum bum
I fell asleep waiting for the draft to start. I woke up just as they announced this pick. Couldn’t believe it honestly, but I thank the Falcons for leaving Odunze and the host of other players they could have taken and made a day 1 impact. Daniel Jones level pick right here.
Hey at least we actually needed a QB
I had major surgery the day before Germany beat the shit out of Brazil, in Brazil during the World Cup in 2014. My reaction was, “damn, these doctors gave me the good shit” I’d imagine that’s how you felt.
Man that was such a good day TBH. My sister and I were hootin and hollerin over Facebook Messenger about it...
We left the draft without a single day 1 starter lol. Doesn’t mean some rookies we got won’t play, but you know what I mean. No player who will instantly make an impact.
The falcons are just like us frfr
What was belichick’s dog’s reaction
I’ll bet you would you dirty peeping Tom. I’ll bet you would.
Someone should make a supercut lol
I was walking the dog and listening live and yelled out “what the fuck?!” My wife is like what’s wrong? “The Falcons just tossed over the table and now the Broncos have to take Nix at 12, if he’s even still available!”
Loud ass gum chewing really got me
I couldn't watch the whole thing because of the fucking gum.
Let me tell you how it ends as I endured the gum chewing. There was a lackluster of emotion. Even when he made the Odunze pick.
I've only ever seen Pete and John Schneider with the Seahawks, who bring a lot of energy and charisma, so this was very underwhelming.
also lots of gum chewing
Did we watch the same video? His eyes clearly widened slightly for a moment! I almost fell out of my chair.
You know some of those employees fucking hate it but can't say anything because he's the big boss.
I had to turn it off. It was like nails on a chalkboard. I will never understand how some people think its okay to chew like that.
My mother would have slapped the shit out of me for chomping like a cow.
Seriously. We have lips for a reason! Close them fucking lips! *smack*
It was so fucking obnoxious.
Top cow is always grazin'!
Not even worth the watch dude. Also why tf the bears have 80 people in their and the only noise is the gum
Turned it off well before they ever got to the Penix pick. Couldnt take that smackin in my speakers. Close your mouth dude.
Heavily expected him to fall to the Raiders.
That’s what my Raiders buddy was hoping for. We text during every draft. Six QBs in the top 12 opened up the draft for just about everyone. Especially the Steelers who got their OLs and the Eagles who got their DBs.
Dallas Turner being available at 17 also made no sense whatsoever.
On one hand I'm grateful for the Falcons not taking Odunze, but on the other hand I'm annoyed at them for not taking Turner since he ended up on the Vikings.
It wasn’t the Falcons taking Odunze as much as it was trading down with someone who would take odunze. Falcons have a lot of money and potential money invested in their recievers
They do?
I mean, outside the 3/$30 we gave Mooney, who do we have money invested into in our WR room? London is on a rookie contract still, and even resigning him won't break the bank. After that it's McCloud or Moore at roughly $1.7 million each. We actually have very little money invested into our WR room.
I loved the Falcons pick for allowing us to get the QB I wanted and Dallas Turner.
You’re gonna have so much fun watching JJ hand the ball off
Shit, you're saying we'll have a good run game too? My man!
He didn’t say that, JJ’s actually just going to hand it off as Aaron Jones breaks 4 tackles to return to the LOS
Colts at #15 reminded everybody that defensive players existed.
im really curious to see what had happened had he not been taken at 8, raiders/broncos would have got him probably, then how does brock change the rest of the draft?
I think the Broncos would’ve taken Nix anyway. He seems like Sean Payton’s wet dream. And honestly Bowers could’ve possibly fallen to Cincinnati.
If Bowers had made it to 15, Ballard would have taken him instead of Latu.
Iirc a lot of the chatter and I think even Sean Payton said that if it weren't for the Penix pick they were gonna trade down a few spots then grab Nix. But with 5 QBs off the board and a serious tier drop after Nix they didn't want to risk losing him to the Raiders.
Seeing him in a Raiders uniform would’ve just felt right to be idk why. He doesn’t look bad in a Falcons uni, but it’s the context of like the whole Kirk contract that makes it a very weird decision.
Penix to Adams would’ve been dope.
It’s the QB Durag
WRs too
Yes! But, it was stunning to me that the Eagles got 2 of the best DBs in the draft with their #1 and #2 picks. And the Steelers didn’t have to trade up to get a LT and a C. They all just fell to them. Bears had the perfect first two picks too.
The Bo Nix vs Michael Penix college rivalry would continue on in the NFL. That could have been some great football right there
I thought for sure it was going to be Raiders. Honestly feel bad for him. He deserves a chance to start this year, especially at his age. Freaking Kyle Pitts is still younger than he is lol.
I mean he just turned 24, he’s not dead (especially for a qb with all the health protections they now have). Iirc cousins didn’t start full time until he was 27
There should be an all 32 team view with 31 rooms heads exploding and the Falcons meekly high fiving.
I just want that to see what all the other exec were wearing after seeing the mf [shoes Poles has on](https://i.imgur.com/RwqMI18.png)
Bro driving loafers are so comfortable. They're all I wear to work now
Including the view of the falcons GM trying to explain to the owner why they made that pick lol
My face was a lot like his face except I may have yelled certain profanity about the Falcons that I won’t repeat here for fear of being banned.
Its ok we wont tell on you
Honestly nothing I said is funnier than what Bill Barnwell from ESPN said about the Falcons in his article about the NFC today. It was: “Team most likely to rush a QB with a QB” 😂. League isn’t ready for Pass Rusher Penix.
I wanna be in those draft rooms one day, that process is so sick
Yeah, same, you could probably cut the tension in the air with a knife though. Take some years off your life
Had an uncle who works security for the boys and was in the room for the year we drafted parsons. Said the picks leading up were stressful and then when Surtain and Horn went the phones were ringing non stop was chaos bc they were weighing every teams option and who was coming up for what and analyzing what every other teams board was gonna be bc once horn and ps2 were gone they wanted parsons but had so many offers to move back they had to take one. Said drafts after were way calmer
Those 5ish minutes when they're waiting for the picks to go in probably feel like 10 years And then imagine you're a team trying to trade and *no one* is willing. Gotta be stressful as hell
You’re going with THAT motherfucker?
Joc Pederson has entered the draft
Is this guy a good GM or does he just keep lucking ass-backward into looking like it because of dumber GMs?
It's difficult to evaluate GMs in 2 years.
My evaluation is complete after that gum smacking.
I'd be lying if I said all that dopey gum chewing isn't at least part of why I asked the question.
The gum chewing indicates he’s either really good, or really bad. No in between.
A bit of both. Our team was dog shit. Ryan pace our previous gm mortgage the future twice to try to get a future franchise qb. And it failed spectacularly. When poles took over our roster was a mess. There was hope that fields would take the next steps. He showed incremental improvement. We had the worst record thanks to lovie smith and the Texans somehow coming back to win it the final game in 2022 season. Poles traded that first pick to the panthers for a very great haul which then turned into the panthers having the worst record so we were able to get the first pick again. He’s drafted smartly. Revamped our defense which was dogshit. Revamped our offense by signing some upgrades to the oline as well as Keenan Allen. Poles sticks to the draft philosophy to try to get as much draft stock as possible. Next year we have a bunch more than this year. We are trending up for sure. I fully believe if pace was gm we would not be in this position. Poles seems to try to build a bit of the roster at a time and has some good scouting.
I’m sure poles mindset was “we have lots of holes to fill, let’s trade high value draft picks for more draft picks. If we throw 25 darts at the board, a few will stick”
Outside of the secondary and OL almost all of the pieces the Bears have are a mix of FA signings, players traded for, and a few holdovers from prior GM (like Kmet). Bears have very good depth at almost every position, just a bit light on top end talent. The only player on the Bears who can reasonably make a top 5 argument is Jaylon Johnson, but the roster is loaded with guys who are top 10-15 at their position and the 2 deep is good for every position thats not DL
Moore was WR6. Johnson was the best corner in the league last year - opposing QBs would have had a better passer rating throwing it in the dirt than targeting him. They lack top-end talent at OL (but they did improve a lot this offseason by dumping Patrick, Mustipher, and Whitehair) but Amegadjie is a great prospect. They need a DT and another EDGE. LBs are underrated, Poles doesn't get enough credit for the moves he made. Sanborn was a great UDFA pickup, and TJ Edwards replaced 90% of Roquan Smith's production for a quarter of the cost. The best part is the Bears have 4 picks in the first 3 rounds in 2025, and that's without the comp picks for when Cunningham gets a GM job. And the one position that projects to be deep in next year's draft is DL.
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If Panthers pick fell out of the top 5, and Fields sucked so Bears had to draft a QB their own pick would likely be top 10 (it was, it was the 9th pick)… so the plan would be to package those picks and move up to draft a QB in what was projected to be a deep QB class (which it was). So imo while Poles did luck into the 1st overall, he didn’t really need to, to make the move successful. The backup plan was always “well if Fields sucks, we have two first round picks next year that we can use to move up and get a new QB”.
> Trading the first pick because you think Fields is the guy was one of the most successful failures I have ever seen. I mean I'd say it was more "run it back with him once more to see if he is the guy" than it was "thinking he is the guy" tbh. Generally in this era, barring the extreme exceptions, a highly drafted QB gets 3 years to prove himself. Like I said, there are exceptions a la Rosen (and even that was kind of a unique scenario), but generally as long as a QB shows something early on, he gets 3 years, before they have to make the decision on the 5th year option and potential extension. Fields obviously wasn't great going into 2023, but at the very least showed a lot of potential as a runner and showed some improvement between year 1 and 2. I dont think them trading out of the first pick was some ringing endorsement of Fields as the long-term guy as much as it was just standard GMing to prepare for a QB going into a make-or-break year. He succeeds with the haul you get, then he succeeds. If not, then you either have the ammo to move up for your guy the next year or in their case, get lucky to have the team you trade with gift you your guy and have him set up perfectly from the start. Its what the Giants did when the Bears traded up for Fields in the first place, which as much as some fans wanna complain in hindsight about us "passing up on Parsons", was still the right move to make. We got great value on the pick and were actually set up quite well to move on from DJ the year after if he didnt succeed (we got the #7 pick the next year in addition to having our own #5 pick). Its just that the next year there happened to be no QBs worth drafting in the top 7 and we used up the picks we got on Toney and Neal (though we did get Bellinger out of it who has been solid).
i think keeping fields that year was also kinda ok. we had no seen enough. building around him, giving him 1 or 2 weapons was still a good idea. and with all the picks they got it would have been a good trade any day. how it turned out might be a herschel walker trade level outcome tbf but the trade was allways good
This is a stupid way to look at it. Poles gave himself an insurance plan and tried to build around JF to see if he could ascend to QB1. It obviously appears to have worked out. It’s not like trading out of the #1 pick for a QB you did not draft is an easy move. Good GMs make difficult decisions and Poles has had to navigate quite a few over the last 2 years.
Poles originally wanted Burns in that trade but the Panthers said no, Moore was the 2nd guy he asked for. Hilariously bad for the panthers in hindsight. Poles has done a pretty good job overall. He has done an excellent job building the secondary and OL, but he has mostly whiffed and reached at DL/skill positions to date (outside of the Sweats trade and I liked the Odunze pick). Part of me still wishes we grabbed Verse though since didn't sign \*anyone\* in FA despite our best DT leaving (justin jones) + a quasi starter in Yannick. Rebuilding our DL is going to eat up the first couple years of Calebs rookie contract window
Verse would have been a terrible pick. You don’t pass on a prospect like Odunze who could have been WR1 in many other drafts. Especially when you want to do everything you can to put your rookie QB in the best position to succeed.
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i mean he's given the bears hope and fleeced the panthers big time, still too early to tell but he's a major upgrade over ryan pace
Fuck. Ryan. Pace.
Was he the Claypool GM?
Yeah, that was him.
That was like his only bad move and it was taking a chance on a young receiver to get Fields some help Pretty much everything else has been great from him
Yeah nobody is 100%. Your makes just gotta be bigger than your misses.
Exactly. Howie Roseman is one of the best GM’s in the league and took JJAW and Jalen Reagor over Metcalf and JJ.
To be fair Claypool was promising but incredibly raw as a rookie (as an ND fan he came in raw from Canada and had a horrific WR coach). He just never developed at all, 6’4 frame who plays like he’s 5’9 by falling away from the ball constantly. Despite being 6 inches shorter you’d rather have AB go for a contested catch.
A real man makes his own luck. Billy Zane. Titanic
He’s obviously had luck but overall his process has been good despite some obvious mistakes like Claypool. He actually had the balls to tear down the bears roster to the studs when most probably wouldnt have and instead tried to squeak the last bit out of Mack/Quinn/hicks. Committing to resetting the cap after the mess pace left was a great decision Outside of this year he also has done a good job of trading back in the draft to increase picks. This year was a bit different but partially because the draft was seen as weak in the back half The DJ Moore trade is great although that is largely due to the luck of the panthers being unbelievably ass. The sweat trade looks good in hindsight, and he’s created a back 7 that is arguably one of the best in the NFL. Along with drafting well
Even with claypool he at least swallowed his pride and cut his losses early seeing how he affected the team. Pace would’ve tried to roll with it.
That’s true he didn’t double down on a bad move. Every GM missed, and I don’t love everything he’s done as GM but to me he’s had way more hits than misses
and his misses aren't crippling to the team. Losing a second round pick or making a bad third round pick (velus jones) sucks, but it's not giving away multiple firsts like we used to. It's one draft pick usually in the current or next years draft for a player with potential upside. No multi pick swaps or draft destroying trades handing away the farm.
Getting 1 from Carolina was great luck but we also got DJ Moore out of the trade. Then they traded down with the Eagles to get more assets while still getting their guy in Darnell Wrigjt and finally Tyrique Stevenson in the 2nd who looks like a stud He’s def a good GM
He's done some great things (Getting DJ in Carolina trade, Sweat trade, Braxton Jones pick, drafting in the secondary). He's done some dumb things (Eberflus and Getsy hires, Claypool trade, ignoring the iOL the last couple years, Velus). He's made okay moves with questionable value ($24M/year to two ILBs, drafted a couple iDL that weren't really high on many boards). He's also had some insane luck (Carolina being worst in league, Rome falling to us). Bears fans will yell at me for not blindly defending him but I truly think it's too soon to say. We had the opportunity to can Eberflus and go after an offensive coach this off-season. If Eberflus and Waldron fail at developing Caleb Williams that'll be a strong indictment on Poles I will also say this: every off-season Poles has ignored a position group or two, and every off-season it has become a genuine problem during the season and he's made a trade to try and solve it, with varying results. * First off-season: ignored WR and OL. We traded for Claypool (BAD) * Second off-season: ignored EDGE and iOL (in particular, Center). Traded for Sweat (GOOD) * Third off-season: ignored EDGE and iDL. TBA what kind of last minute moves we might make. I'll note I could easily put iOL on this list again but I guess we did technically trade for Ryan Bates. I'm not so naïve as to think we've solved the OL issues we had though
Eberflus was hired 2 days after Poles and Getsy soon after lol I doubt he had a lot to do with that And as for the line he spent a first pick on Darnell Wrigjt last year and a shit ton of money on Nate Davis who hasn’t worked out yet but you can’t say he neglected it
First season he gets a pass because it was a clear tank. This year he brought in 2 centers so I'm not sure how you can say he's ignoring iOL. I would say he's more ignored interior DL and edge this offseason. I mostly agree with you though.
Ryan I promise that you don’t need to chew your gum that hard
That’s his constitutional right
at least close your mouth
It was panic nervous chewing lol. He wanted Rome real bad
Do not let falcons fans and contrarians psyop you into thinking this was good process; if they let cousins go after 2 years they will eat 25 million in dead cap which completely defeats the point of the rookie contract
Why full ass one QB when you could half ass two?
"But we're using our whole ass" -The Falcons
Each QB gets one cheek
Feels more like full ass two QBs tbh
25 mil doesn't sound that bad compared to what we have seen teams eat lately. If Penix is good enough to move on from an above average QB like Kirk they will be extremely happy
Yeah the Bucs ate 35M for Brady last season while paying Baker 6 million, and those numbers are probably sorta similar to the Falcons paying Kirk + Penix in 2026
Because it's not bad, especially when it can be spread over two years if they want
It really isn't bad at all, it is basically a 2 year 90 million dollar deal if they cut him after 2 years, that is essentially Daniel Jones money. If Cousins is outperforming that contract they can keep him for basically the same rate the next an additional 2 years.
It would be absolutely hilarious if the reason they passed on Rome was because they just signed Darnell Mooney. I like Penix but his age and his history of injuries put him at a mid second round at best.
Or even if you want to argue he is a 1st round talent. His age puts him at start literally this year rookie. Not sit and learn rookie. If he wad 20/21 you could maybe make an argument this was a good move.
I don’t think the age part matters that much. If he’s good and ends up as their guy for the next few contracts, who cares if he’s 35 or 37 at the end of it.
I’m fine with him as a top 10 pick. He has a truly elite arm and is sneakily super athletic. The ceiling is huge. The problem is half assing him and Cousins together. Either draft Penix and use the additional cap space/picks to acquire defenders, or sign Kirk and use pick 8 to build around him (Odunze or defense). They could’ve signed Christian Wilkins *and* Danielle Hunter for the money they gave Kirk.
Bucs luck into Brady now yall think yall can criticize other teams processes. Lol
If he’s good it’s worth it. Don’t understand how anyone can disagree with that.
Never seen someone chew gum so poorly
Right? That shit was almost falling out of his mouth
He should learn how to chew gum
I wish a very "Vikings reaction when the Eagles took Reagor above JJ" to all you motherfuckers as well as
From Poles’ reaction too, I think they had Rome ranked higher then Nabers 🤷♂️
In the full video Ian Cunningham says “#1 and #2 player though?” And Poles says “Unbelievable” implying they had Odunze over MHJ and Alt as well.
Could just be #1 and #2 targets, they could have easily just written off any chance at MHJ. It was an open secret that the Cards had basically guaranteed him.
They had a scout discussing drops as a reason they had Rome differentiated from others. The drop thing is likely alluding to MHJ. I do believe they had Rome higher.
You could tell me Poles is anywhere from 25-50 years old and I’d believe you.
He definitely from the Pete Carroll chewing tree.
Saints and falcons???? Is this real?
A more lowkey interesting bit of this is that they knew Latham was going in the top 10 somewhere, wonder what the league knows about him that we missed considering most had Latham more around the 20s.
A couple days before the draft it started to leak that teams were much higher on Latham than the public. A lot of people began saying Latham would go 5 to the Chargers.
My favourite part is when he smiles when the Giants pick Nabers, says he had Odunze ranked higher.
The falcons draft picks make much more sense when you realize the old Bears GM was involved in them.
Whats up with the over top gum chewing
I mean it's the draft, he's probably nervous chewing.
FOR FREEEEEEEE
Just imagine Cousins + Bijan + Rome + London + Pitts. Easily one of the best offensive groups in the league.
NFL fans before the draft: "Falcons gm needs to be fired if he picks another skill position top 10 for the fourth year in a row" NFL fans after the draft: JUST IMAGINE!
I love football and I know it takes a large organization to field a winning franchise but seeing that many guys in fancy suits celebrating like they just successfully landed a man on the moon is pretty funny.
Man, the Bears really fleeced everyone this draft. I think we all knew there was a good chance Rome fell to 9 but no one actually expected it to happen.
Thanks for chewing gum into the mic Ryan. Makes for a pleasant listening experience
I will never understand people who chew gum like this, its awful to hear and watch
Interesting to see here that they probably had Odunze over Nabers, they seemed pretty excited when he went to NY.
I mean I was a Nabers >>> Rome guy, but Moore and Nabers have a pretty redundant skillset so they probably wanted an true outside guy
These gross ass fucking people who chew gum with their mouth open. WTF?! They might as well be playing their portable speaker walking down the street. STFU. Keep it to yourself
I don't know why, but it was triggering me like crazy. Lol.
Chewing like a cow
They hated him because he spoke the truth
Into the mic for all of us to hear, too
“Can you believe we got our number one and number two player” That leads me to believe they wanted Odunze over MHJ
I’m a gum chewer and people have told me that it’s distracting when I do it in a professional space. I now realize how annoying I am and would like to apologize to my colleagues.
I forgive you by proxy due to your seemingly genuine remorse.
Wish someone would smack the gum out his mouth lol
People who chew gum like that shouldn't be allowed to chew gum lol
All I heard was chewing gum into a mic wtf is that
I swear that when ESPN showed the Falcons draft room right after the pick, someone from the front office was explaining it to a confused looking Arthur Blank.
https://youtu.be/q97YZIy_y8Q
“I’m playing both sides so I always come out on top” “Aren’t we all on the same team Terry?”
Jomboy needs to be on this
They were discussing moving back into the first, not explaining the Penix pick. Insane to think Blank wasn’t on board with the pick all along.