Bear Digest

Post-draft Chicago Bears depth chart—expert predictions and our takes

Alan Goldsher|
We know Caleb Williams is Chicago's undisputed QB1, but there are plenty of roster question marks.
We know Caleb Williams is Chicago's undisputed QB1, but there are plenty of roster question marks. | Talia Sprague-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

We’re a whopping four-plus months away from the NFL’s opening day, thus three-plus months away from teams locking down the first 53-man roster of their 2025 season.

But that won’t stop us pigskin scribes from prognosticating who’ll be decamped in the various NFL locker rooms come Week One.

To that end, about 72 hours after the NFL Draft came to an end—and about 58 hours after we were finally done hearing about Shedeur Sanders’ plummet to the fifth round (we’re talking to you, Mel Kiper Jr.)—The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns dropped a couple thousand words of depth chart breakdown.

Check out their takes, followed by my takes.

QUARTERBACK

  • Caleb Williams
  • Tyson Bagent
  • Case Keenum
  • Austin Reed

Their Take: “The competition here is Williams vs. himself. He’ll be learning a new offense under Johnson and he has new weapons to connect with in Loveland and Burden. It’s possible that success isn’t instantaneous. That’s OK. But everyone—including Williams himself—expects him to play better in Year 2.”

My Take: They say you should grab a quarterback in every draft, something of which the Bears have not made a habit. I wouldn’t have minded a late-round QB here…nor would I have minded Ryan Poles not giving Case Keenum a deal that shakes out to a $2.25 million cap hit.

RUNNING BACK

  • D’Andre Swift
  • Roschon Johnson
  • Travis Homer
  • Kyle Monangai
  • Ian Wheeler

Their Take: “It wouldn’t be surprising if the Bears added another back to their group. It would fit with everything that Poles and Johnson have said about increasing competition in the name of increasing victories.”

My Take: This list could look quite a bit different if, as some rumors suggest, the Bears take a flyer on oft-injured free agent Nick Chubb. If they stand pat, they’ll regret it, as Swift has yet to prove he has the chops to be a true bell cow back, and Johnson has yet to prove he can do anything other than score from the one-foot line. Hopefully rookie Monangai will evolve into Tarik Cohen 2.0.

WIDE RECEIVER

  • DJ Moore, Devin Duvernay, Samori Toure
  • Rome Odunze, Miles Boykin, John Jackson
  • Luther Burden III, Olamide Zaccheaus, Tyler Scott, Maurice Alexander

Their Take: “Burden’s skill set is so dynamic that you can understand why Johnson would want him in this offense with Moore and Odunze. Getting someone for Williams who can catch a quick slant and take off is going to be impactful.”

My Take: On paper, this might be the best wide receiver room in franchise history—but a bunch of us said that last year, and look how that turned out. The fact that Ben Johnson will be calling plays rather than Shane Waldron or Thomas Brown will be beyond helpful.

TIGHT END

  • Cole Kmet
  • Colston Loveland
  • Durham Smythe
  • Stephen Carlson
  • Joel Wilson
  • Jordan Murray

Their Take: “[A]fter years of struggling to find Kmet a complement, the Bears have drastically upgraded the top of this position.”

My Take: The Loveland choice will be a referendum on Johnson. If the Michigan product performs as a top-ten pick should, the HC gets a massive yay in his permanent record, and should then have carte blanche to draft whoever he wants for the entiretly of his tenure. If Loveland is just okay, we’ll need to have a discussion.

OFFENSIVE LINE

  • LT: Braxton Jones, Kiran Amegadjie
  • LG: Joe Thuney, Ryan Bates, Chris Glaser, Theo Benedet
  • C: Drew Dalman, Doug Kramer, Luke Newman*, Ricky Stromberg
  • RG: Jonah Jackson, Bill Murray, Jordan McFadden
  • RT: Darnell Wright, Ozzy Trapilo, Joshua Miles

Their Take: “The tackle situation will be prominent over the next few months. Jones won’t be out there this spring — will Amegadjie line up at left tackle for the first day of OTAs? Will the Bears start working in Wright on the left side, or do they need to see Trapilo in person first?”

My Take: Here’s a sentence I haven’t considered writing since the Jimbo Covert era: The Chicago Bears O-line is stacked. There are a couple of caveats, admittedly: Braxton Jones has to be healthy, and rookie Ozzy Trapilo has to be good. If these two things are true, the NFC North will be on notice.

DEFENSIVE LINE

  • DE: Montez Sweat, Austin Booker
  • DT: Grady Jarrett, Andrew Billings, Chris Williams
  • DT: Gervon Dexter, Shemar Turner, Zacch Pickens, Jonathan Ford
  • DE: Dayo Odeyingbo, Dominique Robinson, Daniel Hardy, Jamree Kromah

Their Take: “The arrivals of Jarrett and Turner not only improve the depth and talent of the Bears’ defensive front; they change its attitude. The Bears’ offseason moves strongly indicate that they wanted that.”

My Take: GM Ryan Poles couldn’t address everything this offseason, and the D-line got a bit of a short-shrift. The starters are solid, but there’s a notable lack of depth, so good health and quality work from Pickens and rookie Turner are crucial.

LINEBACKER

  • WLB: Tremaine Edmunds, Carl Jones
  • MLB: T.J. Edwards, Amen Ogbongbemiga
  • SLB: Ruben Hyppolite II, Noah Sewell, Swayze Bozeman

Their Take: “[Defensive coordinator Dennis] Allen wants speed on his defense. We’ll see how much Hyppolite’s speed can make up for his lack of height, but this is also a position that won’t be on the field much. Depth is a question mark here.”

My Take: Edwards and Edmunds are beasts—don’t be shocked if one of them makes a Pro Bowl this season—but beyond that, not so much. The fact that the distinctly un-hyped rookie Hyppolite is listed as a starter speaks volumes. Arguably Chicago’s worst position group.

CORNERBACK

  • CB: Jaylon Johnson, Zah Frazier, Nick McCloud, Shaun Wade, Ameer Speed
  • CB: Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, Nahshon Wright
  • NCB: Kyler Gordon, Josh Blackwell

Their Take: “It will be interesting if Frazier can inject himself into the Stevenson/Smith competition. He already has the backing of defensive backs coach Al Harris, who texted Poles in February about Frazier and put him on the Bears’ radar.”

My Take: As noted, the linebacker room is thin and questionable. The cornerback room, on the other hand, runneth over. One prediction: Frazier will supplant Stevenson in the starting lineup by Week Nine. You heard it here first.

SAFETY

  • Kevin Byard, Jonathan Owens, Alex Cook
  • Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, Tarvarius Moore

Their Take: “One of the bigger draft surprises was that the Bears didn’t add anyone here. Again, it doesn’t mean they’re done. They could still add a veteran.”

My Take: The success of this group is based entirely on Brisker’s health. If he’s over his concussion issues, this is a solid-but-unspectacular collection of backfielders. If he’s not ready for prime time, it’s just unspectacular. Reinforcements are essential.

SPECIAL TEAMS

  • K Cairo Santos
  • P Tory Taylor
  • LS Scott Daly
  • KR Devin Duvernay
  • PR Duvernay, Luther Burden III, Josh Blackwell

Their Take: “[T]he competition at punt returner with Burden entering the mix will be the most fun to watch.”

My Take: As long as they name “Velus Jones Jr.” isn’t anywhere near any special teams depth chart, I’m perfectly content.

Published | Modified
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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