NFL fans are getting a treat with war (draft) room videos circulating on social media.
Videos of Jets GM Joe Douglass on the phones this season have populated the internet. The same happened last year when Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort traded the No. 3 pick to the Texans, then traded back to the No. 6 pick to grab Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson from rapid, nerve-racking discussions.
The videos are intense. The general managers are constantly on the phone, checking the time, getting straight to the chase in trade offers, etc. The room is usually silent. People are taking notes, doing research and assessing value. It's a no-joke environment.
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Is the room this intense for the Bears and GM Ryan Poles?
"No our room is pretty chill. I don't think so," Poles said on "The Pat McAfee Show."
When you've known for weeks you plan to draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, and wide receiver Rome Odunze falls in your lap with the No. 9 pick --- the room is likely pretty chill.
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Poles admitted he reached a point with Williams and at the No. 9 pick where he took the phone off the hook. He felt so securely in his picks and positions that he refused to listen to trade calls.
“By the time we got to the point where we felt comfortable (picking Williams), I wasn't even going to take those calls anymore, or even, you know, listen to what it was going to be, because I knew this was the right move for us,” Poles said.
Remember, Poles has been in war rooms outside the Bears'. He was a front office executive in different variations for the Chiefs from 2009-21. There, he got a feeling for a draft room.
Poles said on the show there are instances where only top decision-makers are allowed in the room. Some NFL teams play their draft rooms super safe, not allowing the chance for other staff members to leak their picks to try and get information.
"I've had rooms that limit how many people are in the room," Poles said. "That could be four or five in the room and keep everyone outside for that issue. I'm sure there's an email or a notification of 'It's only gonna be the top decision-makers and above that are gonna be in the room.'"
But in the Bears' room, that's not how Poles wants it to operate.
"Everyone's had their hand in the process. There's a ton of hard work that goes into it across the board," Poles said. "On that day I feel like it's right to have everybody in there. If you're on staff I trust you. We keep the whole crew in there to go through the process."