Ryan Poles, the Chicago Bears GM, has been dealt a seriously rare hand in his first five years on the job. We’re talking four selections in the top third of the first round, including the coveted #1 overall pick. On top of that, he’s made nine selections in the Top 50 and seventeen in the Top 100. That’s an incredible amount of draft capital in a short period, and it makes you wonder how many other GMs ever had that much opportunity to shape a roster.
Who Else Got Close? And Who Didn’t?
Most GMs don’t get that kind of opportunity. Take Cleveland, for instance. They absolutely loaded up on high picks, even back-to-back #1s in 2017 and 2018, and grabbed seven top-ten picks in just nine years. But here’s the kicker: that capital was spread across six different general managers. So, no single GM got that concentrated shot. Houston’s Nick Cesario? He’s got three picks in the top eleven, and all of them were within the top three overall. That’s insane! But it’s not four elite selections, so he doesn’t hit this particular benchmark. And then there’s Trent Baalke. This guy had back-to-back #1 overall picks, nabbing Lawrence and Walker. He averaged an incredible 2,581 points in premium picks per year, which is more than Poles and the equivalent of having the #4 spot in the draft for four straight years! But his tenure was too short to qualify for this exclusive club. Les Snead of the Rams also had the picks, including a #13 on Aaron Donald, but he’s getting his own deep dive later.
The GMs Who Qualified: Draft Capital vs. Results
But what about the GMs who *did* meet the criteria for sheer draft capital? Jason Licht, over in Tampa Bay, needed seven years to get his squad to the playoffs, but when they finally broke through, they went all the way and snagged a championship. Talk about making it count! He had a treasure trove: four picks in the top eleven, 18 in the top fifty, and 31 in the first three rounds across his 12-year career. That’s a whopping 19,457 in premium picks, averaging 1,621 per year. His first six years averaged 2,358 points of premium selections annually, and get this, a .34 win rate. That’s worse than what Poles has managed to date. But hey, when you draft guys like Jameis Winston (#1), Devin White (#5), Mike Evans (#7), and Vernon Hargreaves III (#11) and then win a Super Bowl, a lot of those early struggles just melt away, don’t they?
Then we’ve got Steve Keim, who spent a decade running the Arizona Cardinals. This dude’s a member of the “two quarterback club,” meaning he got to draft his own passer not once, but twice. His time in Arizona? The report says “pretty bland” with “very middling results.” Keim had four picks in the top eleven, 14 in the top fifty, and 26 in the first three rounds, stacking up 16,647 points in premium picks (1,665 per year) over his 10-year career. He snagged Kyler Murray (#1) and Jonathan Cooper (#7) with those high picks. Ultimately, his tenure finished with an 80-80 regular season record and a less-than-stellar 1-3 playoff record. Middling indeed.
The takeaway? Raw draft capital is one thing, but what you *do* with it is everything. Poles has been handed an incredible opportunity, one most GMs only dream of. The results from GMs like Licht and Keim show that even with significant draft ammunition, sustained success, especially early on, is far from guaranteed. It’s not just about the picks, it’s about the players, the coaching, and the execution. Poles has the pieces, but the clock is ticking on turning those picks into wins.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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