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NFL insider predicts Chicago Bears will end up back where 2025 NFL Draft process started

The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and despite all the speculation about what the Chicago Bears will do in the first round, they might end up right where they started.
Bryan Perez|
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The speculation about what the Chicago Bears will do in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft has covered just about the full spectrum of pre-draft predictions. The only position that's been entirely ruled out has been quarterback, and for good reason.

If you skim through this offseason's long list of mock drafts, you'll come across some that project a running back, others a tight end, a bunch that suggest Ryan Poles will select an edge rusher, and a few that focus on interior defenders.

But what's been a constant throughout the 2025 draft season is the underlying need for a left tackle, and while mock drafts have shied away from Will Campbell (LSU) and Kelvin Banks (Texas) over the last month or so, it doesn't mean they don't remain the most likely first-round target for the Bears.

According to Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer, the first round will bring Chicago right back to where they began draft season: an offensive tackle at No. 10.

"Yes, the Bears dealt for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and signed center Drew Dalman," Breer wrote. "But left tackle Braxton Jones, a nice find for the Bears in the fifth round in 2022, is heading into a contract year and has a new set of coaches evaluating him. If he’s not seen as the answer, tackle would be in play. That’s why I think 10 is the floor for LSU’s Will Campbell, and could be a landing spot for Texas’s Kelvin Banks Jr."

The closer we get to the NFL Draft -- which is less than a week away at this point -- the more I agree with Breer. The Chicago Bears have had one goal this offseason: build the trenches, and, more specifically, build up Caleb Williams' pass protection.

It would feel like a job left undone if the Bears don't target a left tackle in the first round. Plus, with Jones entering the final year of his contract, it would be foolish to enter next offseason with the pressure to either pay him or use their first-round pick (which should be later in Round 1) on a left tackle.

The Bears have an opportunity to get ahead of being forced into a massive contract or a first-round need selection by adding a top offensive tackle in the 2025 NFL Draft, which feels like the most logical prediction for what's to come, assuming Ashton Jeanty is off the board when the Bears are on the clock.

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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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