Bears Shouldn't Draft a Tackle in Round 1 Despite National Predictions

The Bears drafting a left tackle in the first round has gained a lot of steam in recent weeks. They've shown interest in a few of the top tackles in the class. General manager Ryan Poles got a front row seat to Alabama's Kadyn Proctor at the Crimson Tide's Pro Day. They also hosted Arizona State tackle Max Iheanachor on a top-30 visit a few weeks ago, and NFL analyst Ryan Fowler announced that they'll be hosting Utah tackle Caleb Lomu earlier today.

They're clearly doing their homework on offensive tackles. You could even say that they're working hard for extra credit on the position at this point. Some in the national media see them going tackle as well (perhaps not as much as other positions, though).

Going with the best player on the board is an important formula that usually produces the best results. I also know that this year's class features a handful of quality tackle prospects who could still be on the board when the Bears are on the clock. I'm still adamantly opposed to the idea.

Bears Drafting for Need vs. Best Player Available

Bears general manager Ryan Poles speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The "Best Player Available" approach comes with the caveat that a team has a remote weakness at a specific position. Fernando Mendoza could magically fall to the Chiefs, who are picking 10th. They would have two options at that point: one, they could trade the pick, or two, they could let him keep miraculously tumbling. They're not drafting a quarterback with Patrick Mahomes on the roster, just like the Bengals aren't drafting another receiver with Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase out wide.

The Bears leaned heavily into the BPA approach through the early rounds last year, and it netted them three really solid players with their first three picks. One of them being very relevant to this article, Ozzy Trapilo. Now, I'm not saying Trapilo is the Patrick Mahomes (or even Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins) of offensive tackles, but I will say that he looked good when he got in the lineup.

Is Ozzie Trapilo the answer?

Bears offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (75) warms up during minicamp at Halas Hall. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

He started the final six regular-season games (and their playoff clash against Green Bay) and completely fortified the left side. We can tell, in watching that game, Trapilo has the makings of being an outstanding tackle. The Packers faced a blocker with elite pass-blocking ability, as demonstrated until he was injured. He turned a position that was previously a complete liability in pass protection (with Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet taking starting reps) into a strength. It may have been a relatively small sample size, but he was one of the top performers among all rookie offensive tackles.

I'm confident the left tackle position wouldn't be mentioned whatsoever if he hadn't suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in their wild-card game. Unfortunately, that did happen, and the Bears had to address the position this offseason.

They did a sufficient job of doing just that. They brought back Jones and Benedet and took a flier on former Browns first-round pick Jedrick Wills. None of them move the needle much, but they really just need to hold down the fort. The former two did just that before Trapilo entered the lineup last season (the Bears were 7-3 when he took over), and Wills has been a solid starter whenever he's managed to stay healthy. They created a quality competition through those moves.

I'm not ready to give up hope on Trapilo bouncing back from his injury and eventually re-joining the starting lineup. I know it's a rough injury, and they can't count on him in 2026, but we've seen players bounce back from the injury recently. The Chiefs' first-round pick last year, Josh Simmons, suffered the same injury in his final collegiate season, and he was arguably the only rookie tackle who played better than Trapilo last season.

I hope the Bears' front office feels the same, but deciding to draft a left tackle in the first would effectively imply that they do not.

Unless the tackle they draft turns out to be a bust (which is a very real possibility with any players coming off the board late in the first), Trapilo will never live up to his second-round draft status with the Bears. Not with Darnell Wright developing into one of the league's top right tackles on the other side.

He'd effectively be relegated to swing tackle duties when healthy. That would be an incredibly disappointing end to what was an extremely promising start to his career.

I'd much prefer they focus their early-round attention on improving their talent on the defensive side of the ball, where they could use help virtually everywhere. I would much rather see them add a defender at virtually any position (besides maybe linebacker after the moves they made in free agency) than draft an offensive tackle in the first round.