Bears GM Ryan Poles Would Need To Be 'Blown Away' To Draft A QB With No. 1 Pick

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has a real dilemma on his hands after the Bears nabbed the first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

With the team's commitment to 2021 first-rounder Justin Fields, it makes little sense for them to take another QB with the top spot in the draft. Or does it?

During the Bears' exit interviews on Tuesday, Poles was asked about the potential of moving on from Fields, who's been more running back than QB in his short career, to draft a top name like Alabama's Bryce Young or Ohio State's CJ Stroud.

Poles admitted that in order for the Bears to draft a QB, he'll need to be "absolutely blown away" by the prospect. (So you're saying there's a chance?)

Here is the GM's reaction to potentially moving off Fields in favor of a first-overall QB:

"We're going to evaluate the draft class, and ... I'd have to be blown away to make that type of decision," Poles said.

Fields, after two seasons, has fallen short of his 11th overall selection from 2021.

With the Bears offense still in desperate need of a reboot -- the team finished with the worst record in football and also had the worst passing attack -- Poles is not eliminating the option to move on from Fields.

Chicago came in last in terms of passing yards (2,598), pass attempts (377) and completions (223).

This year, Fields threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, also struggling with accuracy all season, completing just 60.4 percent of his throws.

The problems with riding Fields are apparent, but the timeline is also unforgiving to the Bears if they choose to dump that experiment altogether.

Where Fields did build up his stock for the future was on the ground: running for the second-most rushing yards (1,143) by a QB in a single season. In Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, Fields set the record for most rushing yards by a QB in a game with 178.

With the Bears' anemic receiving corps and sub-par offensive line, it was no surprise that Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy could not create momentum through the air. So that at least fuels hope that surrounding Fields with the right pieces may elevate his play into a franchise-leading starter.

The Bears will have a difficult decision if they keep the No. 1 overall pick, especially as other teams grow increasingly aware of their commitment to Fields and likely offer less than the pick's value.

But can they manage to keep relying on Fields to turn three wins into nine, 10 or more next year?

Well, we've seen it this year with Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, but many can argue that those two QBs are a field apart.