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Matt Eberflus was asked a very interesting question in Wednesday’s press conference after trading away his defensive captain. He was asked about his stance on Roquan Smith referring to the 2018 draft. During this time, Matt Eberflus was just entering his first year as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts had pick #6, just two picks ahead of Chicago at pick #8. They took Quenton Nelson, the 3x All Pro guard out of Notre Dame, and it’s safe to say that pick has worked out very well for them. The Chicago Bears took Roquan Smith, who was just traded to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2nd and 5th round pick. Eberflus was asked, “if they (Colts) hadn’t taken Quenton Nelson, were you advocating for Roquan?”. His answer shows how the past regime was so out of touch with the change that was happening in the NFL. He replied, “I don’t think at that time that (Chris) Ballard was in the business of taking an off the ball linebacker at 8”. That answer, while so subtle, speaks volume. The previous regime was incompetent in understanding the shift the league was headed in.
There’s a 5 step formula to building a championship roster in today's NFL, it all revolves around the passing game both offensively and defensively:
Quarterback. You need an elite passer of the football. Your team's success is as good as your quarterback.
OLB/DE. You need an elite rusher of the passer. Anyone who can limit a quarterback's potential by causing pressure is an immediate impact player.
Tackle, Guard, Center. You need a blocker for the passer. You need someone who eliminates the pressure on the quarterback, giving him time to make plays.
Wide Receiver. You need someone to catch the pass. No matter how great your quarterback is, it’s hard to be great without play makers.
Defensive Back. You need defenders of the pass. The defensive backs who make the lives of the playmakers difficult.
If it’s hard to understand this, you just need to look at the way the NFL drafts have played out. Running backs and off ball linebackers are moving further and further down the draft board. Wide receivers, defensive backs, and pass rushers are jumping higher and higher up the boards. This is not your father’s NFL anymore. Running the ball and stopping the run, while still a big part of the game, is not the way of the league.
Ryan Poles has once again made me buy into what he’s building here in Chicago. This is going to be a long process but he’s made it very clear he has some idea what he’s doing. He came into a situation where his best defensive player was an off ball linebacker, wanting a $100 million dollar contract. He made it very clear they were not on the same page at all. As the deadline approached, he realized the odds of him and Roquan Smith getting an offseason deal done were slim. Another franchise might pay him that money, but Poles won’t. He traded Smith for draft compensation, and followed that up by trading his own second round pick for wide receiver Chase Claypool. Now, while court is still in session on Justin Fields being the quarterback of the future, things are looking up. Poles spent his two second round picks on a safety and a cornerback. Poles was gifted a talented quarterback who can be the guy with the right minds and pieces around him. And now, he just flipped an expensive off the ball linebacker for a talented wide receiver in Chase Claypool. Poles has 9 picks in the 2023 NFL draft and over $100 million in cap space to work with this offseason. None of this matters if Ryan Poles doesn’t succeed in finding talent in the draft and free agency. You can have all the money and picks in the world and still fail. Ryan Poles is following the formula of building a championship roster, now the moves are in his hands.
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