ESPN NFL Draft guru applauds Chicago Bears' day two magic

Three things are guaranteed in life: Death, taxes, and Mel Kiper Jr. putting in consecutive 25-hour days over NFL Draft weekend.

The ESPN pundit—who’s acknowledged to be among the greatest, if not the greatest NFL Draft analyst in history—never leaves an opinion in his back pocket. And that’s a beautiful thing, because said opinions are usually on point.

The Chicago Bears hope that’ll be the case with his analysis of the second day of the 2025 festivities.

“Good Day Two Haul For an Up-and-Coming Team”

Bears GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson had a fun Friday, landing wide receiver Luther Burden III at 39, offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo at 56, and defensive tackle Shemar Turner at 62, three picks which Kiper saluted in his early-morning look at day two winners and losers.

Spoiler alert: Mel claims the Bears won.

Of Burden—who pundits galore had mocked in the first round—Kiper raves, “He's really, really good after the catch. His 2024 numbers were down a little bit (676 yards), but the quarterback play was shaky at Missouri. Burden can play. He's explosive, and he will be able to take crossers and slants from [quarterback Caleb] Williams for first downs—and then some—in Chicago.”

Just a reminder that Luther Burden is disgusting and shouldn’t have been available at 39 pic.twitter.com/bJiG5NIRuG
— Windy City War Room: A Bears and Draft Podcast (@WindyCityWR) April 26, 2025

Kiper also note that Traiplo, “…can push Braxton Johnes for work at left tackle,” and could be part of the reason, “…this offense take[s] off in 2025.”

Kiper Puts Caleb On Notice

All that said, Kiper is wise enough to know that in today’s NFL, if your quarterback underwhelms, your team will underwhelm.

Mel believes that after day two, Williams has enough weapons to thrive, and if he doesn’t, it’s on him:

“If Caleb Williams doesn't break out this season, there are going to be a lot of questions. The Bears have cleaned up this offense in a hurry, starting with the offensive line moves in free agency and continuing into the first two days of the draft.

Time to make a statement:

There is NO PLAYER who will be under more pressure in 2025 than Caleb Williams. pic.twitter.com/8XOIbvKO8h
— Harrison Graham (@HGrahamNFL) April 25, 2025

“No more excuses for Caleb.”