{"id":481963,"date":"2026-02-21T13:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/481963\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T13:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:01:08","slug":"how-ryan-poles-might-be-tipping-the-bears-hand-with-25th-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/481963\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ryan Poles Might Be Tipping The Bears’ Hand With 25th Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Bears<\/a> will meet with several draft prospects over the next several weeks. General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson know the stakes. They must put together another strong class as they did in 2025 if they want this team to take the next step. That means nailing their 1st round pick again. Unfortunately, this time it won\u2019t be in the top 10. They hold the 25th overall pick, which presents obvious challenges given their position so late in the order. It means they must be extra sharp with their evaluations to find the right player.<\/p>\n

You have the usual approach: interviews, all-star games, scouting combine drills, and extensive interviews. However, another method teams often use that isn\u2019t discussed as much is getting to know players through the team. It\u2019s fair to wonder if the Bears might be doing that. Justin Melo of The Draft Network reported that the Bears were among the teams that met extensively with Missouri center Connor Tollison at the American Bowl. While there is no harm in eyeing more offensive line help, it seems odd they\u2019d focus on a center with Drew Dalman in place.<\/p>\n

Ryan Poles\u2019 interest in Tollison might have ulterior motives.<\/p>\n

While the Bears GM liking a highly athletic center with extensive experience is nothing new, it\u2019s worth noting that two of Tollison\u2019s teammates are heavy favorites to go early in the draft. Both fit key needs for the Bears. The first is defensive end Zion Young, who just dominated the Senior Bowl and has been mocked to Chicago more than a few times in the 1st round. They need pass rush help and he could be an excellent fit. Then you have linebacker Josiah Trotter, son of four-time Pro Bowler Jeremiah Trotter, who has plenty of experts excited. He\u2019s drawn comparisons to Nick Bolton, who Ryan Poles helped draft in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

The Bears will likely need linebacker help by April. Tremaine Edmunds could be cut soon. Noah Sewell is a free agent. T.J. Edwards had his worst season in a Bears uniform last year. Adding Trotter would be an understandable move. Tollison went against both guys in practice for years. If anyone can offer insight into how both operate, it would be the young center. Not to mention, there\u2019s already a player on the roster who might\u2019ve tipped them off to where to look.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel<\/a> to hear Chicago legends tell stories you\u2019ve never seen in headlines \u2014 real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.<\/p>\n

Luther Burden is also a valuable asset to the Bears.<\/p>\n

He played with Young and Trotter during his time with Missouri as well. There is a strong possibility he gave them a tip to look at both when he arrived in Chicago. Let\u2019s also not forget the program has built a reputation over the past several years for productive, excellent NFL talent. Aldon Smith, Sheldon Richardson, Kony Ealy, and Markus Golden all came out as defensive linemen. Bolton went there as a linebacker. It is a talent pool worth looking into. As always, whatever Tollison has to say could shape how the Bears think either player fits in.<\/p>\n

As for the center himself? Early projections have Tollison going somewhere on day three of the draft between the 5th and 7th rounds. While his athleticism is a big highlight of his game, most believe he lacks the size and power preferred. That will make him limited to specific schemes. Luckily, he would fit well in the Bears\u2019 outside-zone system under Ben Johnson. Keep the name in mind this April. If the Bears grab Young or Trotter, we\u2019ll know who gave the seal of approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Bears will meet with several draft prospects over the next several weeks. General manager Ryan Poles…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-481963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}