WATCH: Here’s How the Bears Got a Free Draft Pick From the Eagles
Throughout his tenure as Bears GM, Ryan Poles has not shied away from making trades. And in that sense, he’s a man after my own heart. As someone who executes more than my fair share of fantasy trades (they don’t call me Trader Lu for nothing!), I can appreciate Poles’ knack for cutting a deal. But even I was thrown for a loop on that pre-draft deal with the Eagles. At least, in that moment.
Seriously, who saw this coming? A future fourth-round pick to move back one spot had football Twitter a bit confused when it went down. But after seeing this video shared by DeeksViewOG on Twitter, it all makes sense:
Oh, man! These guys make the art of the deal look soooo casual. I love it. Just look at the fist bump between Poles and Assistant GM Ian Cunningham. It’s as if they knew they had just finessed a free future draft pick as soon as they got off the phone. Those wry smiles are very telling. You can really tell by those reactions that the Bears knew they were (1) still getting their guy with the 10th pick and (2) adding future draft capital in the process. I’ll admit the trade was a bit perplexing at first, if only because the return seemed so light. But sometimes, the best trades you make are the ones that are easy to push through.
Analytically speaking, Chicago won its draft-day swap with Philadelphia. You might not have been expecting that when the terms of the deal had Philly sending a future fourth-round pick to Chicago in order to take Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. And I’ll cut you some slack if you still think the trade was weird. Let’s face it — that was a weird deal. It’s OK to call a spade a spade. But from a pure analytics perspective, this was a net win for the Bears. And judging by their video reactions, they knew it in real-time.
As for how the Bears could use that pick, maybe they can dangle it as part of their attempt to find some extra defensive line help. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not rushing to package the pick that’s been in our hands for less than a month. However, I love the options that it could give this trade-happy front office if (when?) the time comes to cut a deal.
