Also, one legit criticism of Poles is that he probably has not done enough to help Fields. Yes, I expect the better coaching and hopefully a scheme that makes sense to allow for improvement.
I understood the draft picks. They had so many holes that you cannot pass up better talent to force a pick. No issue there.
However, Poles himself pointed out that a young qb's best friend is a dependable WR. My assumption is that they are hoping that Mooney is that guy. I would have liked to have seen Poles be a bit bolder in acquiring a WR that had a bit more talent or proven production than say EQ. I get that the WR went completely off its rocker at least in part due to the contract the Jags handed out. But, it would have been nice to see one other WR that you think Fields could legit trust a bit to make a play - especially as there seemed to be some veterans to be had for cheap deals. They were cheap deals for good reason, but still...would have been nice to see the Bears get one of those.
I don't think the bolded is all that true. First of all, most of the WRs that changed teams were via big time trades. Adams, Hill, AJ Brown, Marquise Brown, Devante Parker, Cooper. Only trades that weren't for 1st round picks (which the Bears didn't even have) + more were Parker and Cooper. Parker went for a 3rd which was an overpay for someone that isn't dependable. Cooper went for late picks, but he came with a 20M/season price tag. None of those were realistic gets for the Bears.
Secondly, in free agency, Kirk got 18 per, MVS got 10M each for 3 years as did Russell Gage. DJ Chark got 10M for 1 year coming off a devastating injury. That was literally the top of the WR FA market, outside of Allen Robinson, who obviously wasn't coming back here. The best FA deal might have been Cedrick Wilson, and nobody would be content with the WR group if they had Cedrick Wilson instead of Byron Pringle.
The real issue is on the OL, where the Bears still are unsure about 3 spots and don't project as more than serviceable at the other 2. The same 3-year/24M contract that got Zay Jones to the Jags, could have gotten you James Daniels, Alex Cappa, Austin Corbett, Conor Williams, Lael Collins or Trent Brown in the FA market (give or take 700K). If Poles failed anywhere, it's on the OL where there were more bargains and guys who moved the needle further than a WR on the same level as Byron Pringle.