Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles deserves praise for not wasting time in overhauling the offensive line even before the new NFL league year begins.
The new NFL league year has not officially started yet but Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles has been busy overhauling the biggest disappointment on the roster in recent memory — the offensive line. With trades and free agency, it looks as though the unit is finally on its way to becoming an asset and not liability.
Last week, Poles traded a sixth-round pick, the one received in the Justin Fields trade last year, for Pro Bowl guard Jonah Jackson. He was not done, however. Later in the week, he brought in another Pro Bowl guard (and All-Pro), Joe Thuney. Nothing is official until Wednesday when the league year begins, but this was great news for Chicago Bears fans.
Now that the legal tampering period has begun, Poles made another big move. He agreed to terms with former Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman. Dalman was considered the top free agent center available so signing him was great. In 2024, he was left one-on-one 45.4 percent of the snaps. That was the second-highest in the league. In those situations he gave up pressure on just four percent of the time. That was the fifth-lowest in the league. Being able to have him go one-on-one and succeed is big for the unit.
Now the Chicago Bears interior line could be considered one of the best in the league now. Additionally, Darnell Wright has shown he could be a very good right tackle. Braxton Jones is on the left side, but he could lose his job if the team uses a first round pick on a left tackle.
Jones has not been bad. He is a solid tackle. However, he still has trouble with the bull rush and the Chicago Bears need a lot of confidence in the blindside protector. Additionally, Jones is in the final year of his rookie deal. They could reset with a better player from the draft or add another veteran.
Poles deserves a lot of credit for his moves. He took a lot of criticism for his lack of moves on the offensive line. He overhauled the offense with some top-notch players, but found out quickly that without help in the trenches nothing can get done. They ended up losing ten straight games and the offense could not move the ball.
It appears that Poles learned his lesson well from working with the Kansas City Chiefs front office before coming to the Chicago Bears in 2022. He was there in the 2020 season when the offensive line got embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs needed to overhaul the unit and they did it quickly.
Ironically, Kansas City brought in Thuney in the 2021 offseason. They also brought in Kyle Long, Prince Tega Wanogho, and Austin Blythe. Furthermore, they traded for Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and drafted Pro Bowl Guard Trey Smith. All that flurry was in a short period of time.
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Now Poles is doing the same with the Chicago Bears. The question now is whether he is done with the big game hunting or if he grabs a left tackle. We saw that the Chiefs added an anchor from the draft. Poles could do the same.
One person who is a big winner is quarterback Caleb Williams. He took a beating in his rookie season in 2024. The Chicago Bears offensive line gave up 68 sacks, which was by far the most in the league. It was also the 11th-most given up by a team in NFL history.
© Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
The record for most sacks given up was the Philadelphia Eagles in 1986 when they gave up 104 of them. However, Williams was able to escape from another 50 sacks, which also led the league. That was a possible 118 sacks that could have happened. That would have obliterated the Eagles’ record.
Now Williams has a solid, dare I say, very good, offensive line in front of him. He can be confident that there won’t be as many breakdowns on the interior that forced him to try to run for his life too many times. He did show how good he could be when he had a little bit of time.
Despite the poor protection, Williams threw for 20 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also threw for 3,541 yards. With protection he could become the first Chicago Bears quarterback to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark. He should be very excited to have the 2025 season start.
Yes, Poles deserves some criticism for not making the moves he should have on the offensive line. However, he has shown and is showing again that he is not doubling down with his failure. He is quickly moving to correct his error. That deserves some credit.
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