The NFL draft had ended less than a hour earlier, and general manager Ryan Poles still was trying to fully assess and contextualize the Chicago Bears’ weekend gains.
Over 47 hours, Poles had assembled a 10-man draft class — seven on defense, three on offense — and was convinced the Bears had taken important strides. He also was certain he had just completed the most eventful three-month stretch of his professional life.
“Oh, yeah,” Poles said. “It’s been awesome. I’m excited about where we’re headed. We’ve been able to do things the right way, and that’s opened up opportunity.”
With all the intense pre-draft work in the rearview mirror — the combine, the pro days, the prospect visits and staff meetings at Halas Hall — with the most critical stages of free agency complete and with the draft frenzy over as quickly as it had begun, Poles was asked how he might decompress Saturday night.
He chuckled at first. Like so many wired executives and coaches across the NFL, his mind already was racing ahead.
“I mean, we’ve got rookie minicamp next week,” he said.
But then he paused and gave himself permission to envision his celebratory drink of choice.
“Bourbon,” Poles said. “A little Jefferson’s Ocean maybe.”
A tall pour was probably in order. At the end of the most significant phase of a crucial offseason, Poles could raise his glass with optimism that the Bears succeeded in upgrading their roster.
“I think we’ve taken a big step,” he said. “There’s a ways to go as well.”
On offense, Poles improved the line in front of quarterback Justin Fields with a top-10 pick in tackle Darnell Wright and a high-end free agent in guard Nate Davis. The Bears also multiplied the weaponry in the offense — from wide receivers DJ Moore and Tyler Scott to running backs D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson to tight end Robert Tonyan.
Fields should hit the practice field at organized team activities in a few weeks with heightened confidence.
“It has to come together,” Poles said, “but I feel like on paper we’ve done a good job to surround him with good talent.”
On defense, coach Matt Eberflus will welcome three new linebackers in standout veterans Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards plus fifth-round pick Noah Sewell. The Bears also drafted a trio of defensive tackles, two cornerbacks and a safety to bolster their line and secondary.
The most obvious remaining weakness is the pass rush, creating understandable wonder and criticism from the outside about how little the Bears did on that front with so much salary-cap space and draft capital to work with this spring.
The only notable pass rusher Poles has added since last season — when the Bears finished last in the league in sacks — is DeMarcus Walker, a seventh-year veteran joining his fourth team with 19½ career sacks.
For that, too, Poles had an explanation plus contingency plans to offer. For starters, he emphasized, the Bears never envisioned this as a one-offseason repair project. “We can’t fix everything at a high level in one swoop,” he said.
He also noted he would be scanning the free-agent market in the weeks ahead, trying to identify pass rusher possibilities who might make sense from a talent and practical value standpoint.
If something clicks, Poles can check another important box. And if it doesn’t?
“Then we’ll just continue to do what we’re doing,” he said. “But there is also next year’s draft. And we’ve set ourselves up nicely for that too.”
Eberflus added Saturday night that the Bears could compensate for deficiencies on the edge by strengthening the interior of their defensive line, which they hope they did by signing free agent Andrew Billings and drafting Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens and Travis Bell.
The vision, Eberflus said, is to tap into the size, speed and length of his interior linemen to create favorable matchups up front.
“When you have a guy who can dent the pocket from the inside, that pressure is felt right away,” Eberflus said. “Because they’re closer to the quarterback. And it frees up the (edge) guys and gives them one-on-ones on the outside, (especially) when you have two guys in there who can really do that.”
Eberflus shares Poles’ belief that the Bears are moving in the right direction with their roster construction. He also expressed gratitude for the shared vision he has with his boss.
“When we met a couple years ago and started to build our relationship, it was pretty evident early that we coveted the same style. We coveted the same players,” Eberflus said. “That’s a natural fit for him and (me). And we’re just continuing to grow together.”
As a team, the Bears must continue growing. The biggest phase after any draft is the development of the rookies brought in to speed up the team’s championship pursuit. That will begin at rookie camp Friday and Saturday at Halas Hall.
The Bears can be justifiably confident they are moving in the right direction while also remaining aware the journey from three wins to 11 or 12 is long and demanding.
As Poles readied for his bourbon Saturday night, he seemed cognizant of where his team stands.
“Now,” he said, “you look forward to winning more football games.”
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