Chicago Bears: Poles plays “Let’s Make a Deal”, nearly doubles his picks

Defensive Backs

Kyler Gordon, 2nd Round, #39
Jaquan Brisker, 2nd Round, #48
Elijah Hicks, 7th Round, #254

Apparently, Poles felt the Chicago Bears had to improve the secondary more than anything else. He spent his top picks on defensive backs and picked up another one in the final round.

I really like what Poles did here. Yes, he could have gotten higher-rated offensive linemen or wide receivers with the earlier picks. Of course, he could have eased those fears by getting a better wide receiver in the third round.

The Bears’ secondary was a mess last season. They consistently got beat in key situations late in games. There were too many blown assignments and missed tackles. They were fortunate that it didn’t look as bad as it was because Quinn was having a historic season and the Bears were among the leaders in sacks.

We can’t expect something like that again, so the secondary had to be improved. Poles greatly improved the secondary.

With his first-ever pick, Poles picked up Kyler Gordon. Gordon is a physically aggressive corner who also loves to tackle. He also does a good job of helping against the run.

At 6-feet, 195 pounds, Gordon has the size you want to succeed. He’ll play the outside, but he can also play the nickel. When he’s on the field, he’ll give Jaylon Johnson some help. As last season progressed, many quarterbacks just stopped throwing Johnson’s way.

Why target a good player when they could go after inferior players? That will stop now with Gordon there.

Jaquan Brisker is another physical player. This is a trait that Poles wants in his players. He wants hard-working, high-motor physical players who wear opponents down in games. That is Brisker.

Brisker was a do-it-all player for Penn State. He could play strong or free safety and he could even play the slot. He has the size at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds to take on tight ends. What pops in his film is how many times he came up big in critical situations. As I noted, the Bears’ secondary came up small in those situations last season so they needed to change that.

Brisker is a player who feels as comfortable in coverage as he does against the run in different schemes. He has a high football IQ and has great awareness to attack the ball quickly.

It’ll be exciting to see Brisker team up with Eddie Jackson and the two should wreak some havoc.

Elijah Hicks might be the best value pick of the draft for Poles. He does a good job of coming in from coverage to close on the ball. He has good instinct and anticipation and can undercut the receiver for the ball.

Hicks is another physical and aggressive player. He uses great tackling technique and gets some hard hits.

Hicks has good awareness and discipline. That is especially true in the red zone. He’ll stay on the back line to take away fade throws.

Hicks might not be starting material but he’ll be a good backup. There won’t be a big dropoff with him on the field and he’ll be able to give starters a good rest.

Poles found himself three physical, hard-hitting players with high motors. He intends on bringing back the Monsters of the Midway.