Ryan Poles draws parallels between Caleb Williams and Patrick Mahomes as Bears circle in on QB ahead of 2024 NFL draft
Ryan Poles is nothing if not excited at the prospect of drafting Caleb Williams.
It is no secret that the Chicago Bears intend to draft the Heisman-winning USC Trojans quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. And speaking to Rich Eisen on Tuesday, the incoming third-year general manager concurred with a bold comparison to Patrick Mahomes, whom he had scouted during his days with the Kansas City Chiefs:
"There's parts of it. Creativity, different arm angles. Big arm, that part's there, for sure. And that gets you excited... We've watched Pat do that a high level, and also make other people really good.
"He [Williams] can run, he's very athletic, change direction, make people miss. You don't want your kid doing that too much, but you have that in the toolbox. And that's always effective."
Ryan Poles explains why Bears moved on from Justin Fields as franchise prepares for Caleb Williams
In the same interview, Poles discussed the Chicago Bears' decision to ditch Justin Fields.
The No. 11 pick in the 2021 draft had broken out as one of the league's potential dual-threat stars in 2022 after rushing for 1,143 yards – the third-most by a quarterback in league history – and setting other positional rushing records. His numbers on the ground dropped in 2023; but he also set career-bests in completions, passing yards, interceptions and fumbles.
However, all that passing improvement has proven to be for naught, as he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers to make room for Caleb Williams. Poles described the process as follows:
"We spent the last few years evaluating; and then as you know with contracts, you come to the end of that rookie contract, and you got to make some decisions. And for us to continue the build the way that we are, we felt like it was the right move to go a different direction and use the draft.
"To trade a guy like Justin Fields is a very tough decision for what he stands – unbelievable kid, hard warker, smart. But again, you just kind of run out of runway on a contract."
In exchange for losing Fields, the Bears received a 2025 conditional sixth-round pick that will become a fourth-rounder if he plays the majority of the Steelers' offensive snaps.