Ryan Poles construed to the media there were four teams with "good offers" for the Bears' coveted No. 1 pick. A lot of teams expressed casual interest, too, in the pick, according to the Bears' GM.
Yet, Poles didn't indulge in using other teams' offers as leverage against another team. He doesn't do business that way.
"I’ve had that happen to me in negotiating settings with agents," Poles said to Courtney Cronin. "So I really don’t do that. Specifically shop deals around. I just I don’t like that. But if I have something better, I have something better and we can keep talking."
Poles is a transparent, honorable general manager. He doesn't indulge in tricks or games. He's a straight shooter. His persona and reputation as an executive helped the Bears make a deal.
And that proved correct for trading the No. 1 pick.
Part of the reason pundits believe Poles was able to get a deal done with the Carolina Panthers for the No. 1 pick is due to his relationship with Scott Fitterer. The two go way back. They both came up as scouts in the NFL and saw each other frequently.
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"There are times during the course of the fall when Ryan [Poles] calls in part of his duties when he was in Kansas City," Peter King said on NBC Sports Chicago's Football Night In Chicago. "He would go to, let's say, Kansas State, Kansas and Iowa State in the course of one week. And many times he would see the same people on the road. And at the time, Scott Fitterer is a rising star scout with the Seattle Seahawks. So that was one of the guys he would see on the road quite a bit . . . And I think that's the kind of relationship he developed with Scott Fitterer."
MORE: NFL analyst says relationship between Poles, Fitterer helped Bears
In doing this, Poles earns a certain, unique respect from other general managers around the league. Of course, he doesn't have the same close-knit relationship with every GM in the NFL.
But, from the looks of this deal, Poles has the respect and admiration of others to be treated fairly. And in turn, other teams are willing to do business with him and the Bears.
For the Bears, trading the No. 1 pick came with opportunity costs. In this instance, Poles traded compensation for time. The early setting of the deal gave Poles a clearer picture of how the rest of the offseason would unfold.
The Bears traded the No.1 pick to the Carolina Panthers seven weeks away from the draft, and days before free agency. With DJ Moore rostered and draft picks added to the war chest, Poles and the Bears had more time to map out a more precise offseason plan.
Now, because of Poles' work so far, the Bears are set up with a vision for the 2023 Bears.