Bear Digest

Lineman of interest to Bears labeled No. 1 in the 2025 draft

A former NFL coach who assessed top offensive linemen in this draft class stamped Oregon's Josh Conerly as the best available even if he has been called a second-rounder by others.
Gene Chamberlain|
Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr. blocks against Liberty in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl.
Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr. blocks against Liberty in the 2024 Fiesta Bowl. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears have already attracted some attention for their interest in Oregon tackle Josh Conerly Jr., which will take on the form of a 30 visit to Halas Hall

The 6-foot-5, 311-pounder is a player trending up apparently, as he has plenty of interest from other teams and another stamp of approval from a former Bears offensive coordinator.

Mike Tice, the former Vikings head coach and Bears coordinator during the Jay Cutler era, did an analysis of various offensive linemen in the draft for his son Nate's ESPN podcast, and the end result was overwhelmingly positive for a player who has been called an early second-round pick by NFL Mock Draft Database's big board.

"I love him, he was my No. 1 guy," Mike Tice said. "Period. No. 1 offensive lineman in this draft."

That's a bold statement and Tice admitted he didn't do deep background checks or anything of the sort.

"I didn't get a chance to look it up but whoever is the offensive line coach at Oregon (A'Lique Terry) has done a tremendous job," Tice said. "This kid plays with great technique in all areas of the game.

"Pass sets, run game, out in space, footwork, down blocks, hand usage, this guy has a lot of traits. When you have that many good traits you're a first half of the first round player. Because he has so many good traits, that to me makes this guy a premier offensive tackle in this year's draft. I really like this player. There's not a lot to not like about him unless he's got some blemish or some acne that I don't know about."

Tice, always known for his sense of humor in Chicago and Minnesota, joked a bit with Nate about the player but was dead-on serious about how strong of a prospect he views Conerly to be.

"I'm really good in gap and zone schemes, it doesn't really matter," Conerly said at the scouting combine. "I bring a lot."

Considering the Lions took a former Oregon offensive tackle as the basis of their offensive line while Bears coach Ben Johnson was there, the interest is probably not surprising. That was Penei Sewell.

While Conerly hasn't been described as that dominant of a player, he does have a rather distinct feather in his cap. During the Big 10 Championship Game against Penn State, he was entrusted with stopping the draft's No. 1 edge rusher, Abdul Carter.

The end result: No sacks allowed. Ducks coach Dan Lanning had called out Conerly to stop the dangerous Carter.

"It was shocking in the moment but that was my plan anyway," Conerly said. "I feel like I played OK.

"There are some play that I could have been a lot better. For the most part, his impact was minimal."

Conerly said he has been honing his technique by working in California with former Packers and Chargers center Corey Linsley and former NFL line coach Paul Alexander.

"I feel like I've actually gotten a lot more agile," he said.

Being focused on improvement rather than just winning a game is part of the reason he sees his fundamentals improving.

"Change of direction stuff, linear speed and stuff like that," he said.

As good as he has played and as big of an impression as Conerly has made with the Bears and other teams individually and in the Big Ten season, he also has one embarrassing blemish, as Mike Tice would have called it.

During Senior Bowl week, he got posterized. He was the offensive lineman beaten badly while trying to block Marshall's Mike Green on a video circulating widely on X and YouTube

"It's the game of football," Conerly said. "Everybody 'gets got.' I got 'got', simple as that.

"This happened before in practice (at Oregon) so I've been in that situation. No matter what, you have to get back up and keep fighting. You're not just going to lay there forever."

From the sound of the opinions floating around on Conerly, a lot of teams will take him at his word.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.