Bear Digest

Chicago Bears urged to prioritize physical football in 2025 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears have endless options in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, one of which would go against modern draft theory.
Bryan Perez|
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The 2025 NFL draft is less than one month away, and we're no closer to figuring out who the Chicago Bears are targeting in the first round than we were when the 2024 season ended.

General manager Ryan Poles' offseason acquisitions have made the Bears' draft projection much more difficult (and exciting). The upgrades Chicago made along the offensive line eliminated the position group as the obvious first-round priority, although left tackle remains an area of concern.

The investment the Bears made in Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett could also make the defensive line more of a second-round target as well.

That leaves the 10th overall pick as a true wildcard, which, according to Bleacher Report's Moe Moton, should be spent on an old-school position.

Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) against the Penn State Nittany Lions
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"Go against the grain with a trade-up for running back Ashton Jeanty to make a triumphant return to physical Bears football," Moton wrote.

Bears must stay true to their offseason plan in 2025 NFL Draft

I get the temptation among Chicago Bears fans to select Jeanty in the first round. It's fun. It's sexy. It's exciting.

But it's also wrong.

The real way for this team to return to physical football is to finish off the offensive line rebuild by adding a left tackle who's capable of unseating Braxton Jones as the starter, even if it isn't right away in 2025.

Running back is one of the strongest position groups in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bears can land a prospect like TreyVeon Henderson (Ohio State) or Kaleb Johnson (Iowa) in the second round. A running back like that, combined with Will Campbell (OT, LSU) or Armand Membou (OT, Missouri) is the winning formula.

Poles has done a fantastic job fixing the interior of Chicago's offensive line in the span of just a few weeks. He can't mess it up now. Selecting Jeanty, while not an egregious error, would certainly go against the theme of the 2025 offseason so far.

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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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