Bears have unusual way of testing prospects at NFL Combine

Jan 31, 2022; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears General new Manager Ryan Poles speaks during a Press Conference Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Combine is a chance for teams to meet one-on-one with top draft prospects and get a feel for the players they might be interested in. It is ultimately up to each team to get whatever they want out of these encounters, and the Chicago Bears are opting for a more unconventional approach in their meetings.

The Bears are playing darts and putt-putt golf with the prospects they meet with in order to get a sense of their competitiveness. General manager Ryan Poles and credited coach Matt Eberflus with the idea, with the team feeling that it will give them a better idea of who the most competitive prospects are.

The @ChicagoBears want to find the most competitive guys at the #NFLCombine, so they're playing darts and putt-putt with prospects.

GM Ryan Poles and HC Matt Eberflus talk the Combine, 1st overall pick plans, and Justin Fields with @PSchrags. (via @GMFB) pic.twitter.com/u93KlPWTS6

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 2, 2023

“We wanted to see the competitive side come out of them,” Poles said on NFL Network Thursday. “We were talking before we got here, and Flus was like, what can we do to kind of loosen the guys up and see if they’ve got a little competitive juice to them? So we decided on darts and putt-putt.”

The Bears actually are not the first team to do something like this. The Philadelphia Eagles did something similar last year, and given their recent success, it probably is not the worst idea to take some inspiration from them.

The Bears will have the pick of the entire field, as they hold the No. 1 pick in April’s draft. However, they might not necessarily stay there when all is said and done.

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