How did Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles’ first draft turn out? Grading the 2022 class

The vibes heading into the NFL Draft are frequently similar — no matter the year, the city or the franchise. The general manager openly praises the vision of the coaching staff and appreciates the work of the scouts. Open communication, it is stated, has created clarity inside the organization. And the team’s assembled draft board — built, rearranged, then tightened as the big event nears — feels like an answer key.

That was the case four years ago at Halas Hall when Ryan Poles, preparing to run his first draft as Chicago Bears GM, reiterated his desire to build through the draft and emphasized the importance of finding players who fit both on the field and in the locker room.

The Bears, per Poles, had run countless simulations, preparations they used to anticipate trade scenarios and difficult decisions and to test their draft room’s nimbleness. Poles and his team had metrics ready — measurements, analytics, other statistical stockpiles to help inform their decisions. But as the GM himself underscored, leaning too far into a paper report can be “playing with fire a little bit.”

Instead, Poles stated, a prospect’s on-field performance, documented on video, had to carry the greatest weight.

“My foundation at the end of the day,” Poles said two days before the 2022 draft began, “is I want to take a good football player because I’ve watched the tape and there’s proof.”

Poles was confident in his process with optimism that a successful 2022 draft could accelerate the Bears’ steep climb. Off they went.

So how, ultimately, can the return on investment of that particular class be assessed? And what are the key guidelines for measuring a successful draft in any year under any circumstances?

The Athletic is taking on the first installment in what we envision will become an annual series of thorough evaluations on Bears draft classes. We’re starting with 2022, not just because it was the first class Poles put together, but more so because we are four years removed from that draft and beyond the rookie contracts of all the players the Bears selected.

That’s a reasonable judgment timeline with enough results to examine what the team accomplished and what it did not.

To better understand every draft class, we’ll examine where the Bears stood heading into that draft while diving deeper into the actual selections. Step one: establishing parameters for what registers as a successful pick at various stages of the draft.

The rubric

Using input and guidance from multiple GMs and front-office execs across the league over the years, here is our working framework for what qualifies as a “hit” within each level of the draft. (The strength of each respective class of prospects was also taken into account.)

• Round 1, top 10: Early productivity. Long-term starter. Undeniable impact player. Best-case scenario: multiple Pro Bowl and/or All-Pro selections.

• Round 1, picks 11-32: Immediate starter. Significant production for a half-decade or longer.

• Rounds 2-3: Immediate contributor. Hopeful starter by the end of his rookie season. Ideally, a building-block guy. Consistent production.

• Round 4: Longer runway for emerging. Eventual contributor. Should make the 53-man roster across multiple seasons. Hopefully breaks through at some point as a key contributor with proper development.

• Rounds 5-6: Meets an obvious team need. Reliable depth piece with developmental potential. Valuable special teams contributor. Fills a specific role or niche.

• Round 7: Any notable contribution whatsoever.

State of the 2022 team

The Bears had undergone a full reboot after a disappointing 6-11 season in 2021, firing general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy and replacing them with a new Ryan-and-Matt pairing — Poles and Eberflus.

It was clear heading into the 2022 offseason that a roster overhaul was coming and that Poles’ first order of business would be making calculations on his initial teardown. Standout edge rusher Khalil Mack became the biggest spring subtraction, traded to the Chargers for a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 sixth-rounder. Veterans Danny Trevathan and Eddie Goldman were also released, and the team chose not to re-sign defensive tackle Akiem Hicks as a once-vaunted defense was disassembled. (Receiver Allen Robinson also departed in free agency.)

While Poles was reluctant to hang a “rebuilding” sign outside 1920 Football Drive, identifying that label as “super sensitive” ahead of the draft, he was well aware of how much talent he needed to reshape the roster and re-establish the Bears as contenders.

Quarterback Justin Fields, coming off a bumpy rookie season, was identified as a centerpiece to build around. Internally, Poles and his front-office staff understood the heavy lifting ahead.

During free agency, the team’s biggest attempted splash faltered when defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi failed his physical, with Poles subsequently opting to rescind the Bears’ three-year, $40.5-million contract agreement.

The biggest multiyear contracts went to center Lucas Patrick and defensive linemen Al-Quadin Muhammad and Justin Jones. Newcomers arriving via one-year deals included linebacker Nick Morrow, receivers Byron Pringle and Equanimeous St. Brown and offensive tackle Dakota Dozier.

The Bears entered the 2022 draft missing their first- and fourth-round picks — selections sent to the New York Giants as part of the 2021 draft weekend deal that allowed Pace to move up from No. 20 to No. 11 to select Fields. Ultimately, by design, Poles used the six picks in his 2022 draft wallet to move around the board on draft weekend, increasing the size of that class to 11 players.

The actual class

For each selection, we are assigning a numerical value (maximum: 100) and an accompanying letter grade. We have set a floor at 50 for the lowest possible score. It’s important to emphasize, using the rubric, that we are grading the success of the selection that was made far more than the production of the player. That is the guiding premise of the exercise and must be kept in mind.

Day 1: N/A

Day 2: 75 C

For everything that “hit” with the Kyler Gordon pick, the Bears struck out on Velus Jones Jr. And even as solid as Gordon has been, he’s still seeking his first Pro Bowl selection. Jaquan Brisker flashed but missed 16 games during his Bears career and didn’t become a standout worthy of a second contract.

Day 3: 84 B

Finding a fifth-round pick from Southern Utah (Braxton Jones) to start 44 games at left tackle, plus a seventh-rounder (Elijah Hicks) who can be a consistent contributor on Sundays on special teams can make up for the other late-round picks who never made it.

Our Class of 2022 grade: C+

Based on conversations with league executives, our grading scale for each overall Bears class puts the heaviest weight on first-round picks; a similar weight on second- and third-rounders; and then a smaller value for all Day 3 selections (Rounds 4-7), considered in league circles to be the lottery scratch-off segment of the draft.

Note: Because the Bears’ 2022 class did not include a Round 1 pick, the class was evaluated more heavily on the Day 2 picks than on Day 3 selections.

Most important pick

On the night of his first draft, Poles shared a story that through all the Bears’ simulations, Gordon was never available at No. 39, a new twist on a common GM soundbite: “We couldn’t believe he was there.”

“The great thing about (Gordon),” Poles said, “is his movement skills are outstanding. He’s tough. … Reactive athleticism, twitchy. He’s going to help us in coverage big time and make that whole defense better. The other thing you love about him is just the instincts. He has great feel for the game.”

When healthy, Gordon has put those traits on display over the past four seasons, earning a three-year, $40 million extension in the spring of 2025.

Initially, the Bears put a lot on Gordon’s plate, asking him to play outside and at nickel. But once he was allowed to focus solely on the slot, his playmaking production increased. He had six passes defensed and three tackles for loss in 2023. A year later, in London against the Jaguars, he was everywhere, recording five tackles for 2 yards or less. Then, however, Gordon got hurt and ultimately missed four games.

When head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen arrived at Halas Hall last year, both were impressed by their new nickel corner, nicknamed “Spider-Man.” But, because of multiple soft-tissue injuries, Gordon played in a grand total of three regular-season games.

Gordon still has a reputation as one of the league’s better slot corners. That’s why he registers as the best pick of the Bears’ 2022 class, but he needs to stay off the injury report. Johnson acknowledged at the league meetings last month that it was a “challenge” getting to know Gordon and what he can bring to the defense because of all the time he missed. The hope is that he will stay durable and put it all together this season.

Bears GM Ryan Poles was high on wide receiver Velus Jones Jr.’s traits, but ball-security issues contributed to his eventual release. (Brad Penner / USA Today)

Biggest miss

In what was widely regarded as an impressive class of receivers — six went in Round 1 — Velus Jones was the 14th off the board when the Bears selected him. They were drawn to his combination of size and speed and convinced he could become a dangerous weapon as both a “ball-in-hand” guy on offense and as a returner.

“There are a lot of really cool traits,” Poles said on draft weekend. “This guy breaks a lot of tackles. He can take the top off (a defense). His run-after-the-catch is outstanding. He’s big, too. He’s 5-11, 205 pounds. This isn’t like a skinny fast dude. This is a strong, violent runner.”

Alas, Jones had consistency issues plus serious ball-security problems, and his Bears career totals — 12 catches, 135 receiving yards, 165 rushing yards, two total offensive TDs — left a lot to be desired. Jones had more high-profile mistakes, including four lost fumbles, than he had big plays.

The Bears went into the 2022 draft with receiver as a major need but steered toward Gordon and Brisker in Round 2, even with pass catchers like Wan’Dale Robinson, George Pickens and Alec Pierce available. Each of those receivers landed huge second contracts earlier this spring. Receivers selected after Jones included Romeo Doubs, Calvin Austin and Khalil Shakir.

Jones, meanwhile, was released by the Bears in October of his third season and has been primarily a special team contributor since bouncing from Carolina to New Orleans to Seattle.

Key notes

• One direct way to judge a draft class is by examining which players earn second contracts with the team. The 2022 draft class wound up with three players landing new deals to stick around — Gordon, Braxton Jones and Hicks. Gordon, though, was the only one to land a multiyear extension, a deal signed in April 2025 after his third season.

• For what it’s worth: our highest grade for the Bears’ 2022 class actually went to Hicks. The 254th pick in the draft never enters the league with grand expectations, yet Hicks has made 15 career starts while playing in 61 games, showing the ability to fill in at safety while becoming a consistently reliable special-teamer. Only one other player selected in the seventh round of 2022 has appeared in more games (Saints linebacker Rodney Thomas).

• Braxton Jones returns for 2026 on a one-year contract, potentially in line to reclaim his starting job at left tackle after a season-ending injury in 2024 and performance struggles last season sent him to the bench. That opportunity could change the trajectory of Jones’ career if he can win a competition against Theo Benedet and Jedrick Wills. He will also likely be on watch this week to see if the Bears use an early pick on a tackle.

• Brisker’s final game as a Bear may have been his best. A spark plug for the defense — when healthy — Brisker had 14 tackles, one for a loss, two passes defensed and a quarterback hit in the NFC divisional-round loss to the Rams. Even though he played nearly every snap in 2025, Brisker’s concussion history loomed, and the Bears, under Allen, are also seeking more versatility and range from their safeties.

Brisker ultimately landed with his hometown team, the Steelers, signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract, a reflection of the durability worries around the league.

• Dominique Robinson, a former quarterback and receiver who converted to defensive end, oozed athleticism and intrigue when he arrived, with some analysts pegging him as the Bears’ top value pick on Day 3. He looked the part in his NFL debut when he had 1.5 sacks. But he totaled only two more sacks over his next 45 games. To Robinson’s credit, he earned a roster spot in 2025 after the coaching change from Eberflus to Johnson and was integral on special teams. He also had his most productive defensive season since 2022 and signed with the Texans last month.

• Given the state of the roster at the time, using a seventh-round selection on a punter felt a tad impractical, even with 10 other draft picks already added to the roster and only seven selections left beyond the No. 255 slot, where Gill was taken. For full context, the 49ers grabbed starting quarterback Brock Purdy as Mr. Irrelevant of that class and have since watched him pass for 11,685 yards and 84 touchdowns. Gill, meanwhile, was waived just after draft weekend in 2024 — after Poles used a fourth-round selection on another punter, Iowa All-American Tory Taylor. (Gill last punted in 2024, when he spent eight games with Tampa Bay.)

• Five of the Bears’ six 2022 sixth- and seventh-round picks are either unsigned or no longer in the league. That’s hardly an anomaly but still notable. Zachary Thomas played in 17 games with three other teams. Trestan Ebner didn’t play in a game after his rookie season. Ja’Tyre Carter started twice for the Bears in 2023 but hasn’t been on the field since. Doug Kramer, who appeared in every game in 2024, stuck around for training camp last summer before being waived.

The ‘ideal’ class

Had the Bears kept the six original picks they had going into draft weekend and used those on what turned out to be the best players available in those respective rounds, here’s how a dream class could have come together.

The history book

For this exercise, for the sake of comparison, we retroactively graded every selection made over the previous 10 Bears draft classes and assigned our letter grade for each class drafted by former GMs Phil Emery and Ryan Pace. It is important to reiterate that these grades are more a reflection of what the Bears accomplished with the selections made more than a grade of the cumulative player production.

• 2021: C- 
• 2020: B+
• 2019: C+ 
• 2018: B
• 2017: C-  
• 2016: B-
• 2015: C- 
• 2014: C
• 2013: B-
• 2012: D+