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Wild 2025 NFL Mock Draft has Chicago Bears trading up for surprising first-round target

There won't be many 2025 mock drafts as wild as the latest from ESPN, which has the Chicago Bears making a move up the first round for a shocking target.
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The Chicago Bears are a true wildcard team in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. For the first time in a long time, the Bears have a roster that will empower GM Ryan Poles to truly select the best player available. And that best player available could come from a position that traditionally isn't viewed as a top-10 value.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty immediately comes to mind. In a 2025 NFL Draft that features an incredibly deep running back class, adding Jeanty in the first round would be bold, but not shocking.

Bears coach Ben Johnson spoke from the NFL owners meetings this week and explained that when the Detroit Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick in 2023, they viewed him as an offensive weapon, not a running back. He said Gibbs was a player who could strike fear in opposing defenses, which is the standard he applies to running backs being considered for an unusually high draft position.

Jeanty would qualify as that kind of guy.

So would Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, who, as Johnson put it, "is the definition of a football player."

And in the latest 2025 NFL mock draft from ESPN's Bill Barnwell, one that featured trade scenarios for all 32 teams, the Bears trade up with the New York Jets to No. 7 overall to add Warren, a prospect whom Bears coaches have a huge draft crush on.

Tyler Warren to the Chicago Bears is building momentum

"With the Panthers in an endless hunt for receivers, the Bears could jump ahead of Carolina and grab tight end Tyler Warren," Barnwell wrote. "Cole Kmet's deal has no guaranteed money remaining after 2025 and Durham Smythe is on a one-year deal. Johnson's Lions lined up in 12 personnel (two tight ends) more than 32% of the time last season, which means taking Warren would make sense."

At this point, and with so many football minds connecting Warren to the Bears, it's time to take this outcome very seriously.

But I've long said that I don't believe the Bears will use the 10th pick on a tight end. I certainly don't think they'll trade up for one, either, regardless of how talented Warren is. He's not the level of prospect Brock Bowers was in 2024, and while I can see some 'Trey McBride' in his game, McBride was a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Sure, McBride is now one of the NFL's elite tight ends, and maybe in a draft redo, he'd be a top-32 selection. But I still don't believe tight end ranks atop Ryan Poles' 2025 NFL Draft wish list.

Instead, Chicago is more likely to stick with their trenches rebuild and target Will Campbell (LSU) or Armand Membou (Missouri) with their first-round pick.

Look, it would be a blast cheering for Warren (or Jeanty) if the Chicago Bears snag one of them in the first round. Just count on it.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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