Chicago Bears Mock Draft & Team Needs

The Chicago Bears entered the 2024 season with renewed optimism but the team didn’t live up to expectations. A 5-12 record exposed major weaknesses on both sides of the ball and set the stage for another critical draft in 2025.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears entered the 2024 season with high hopes after selecting Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but the anticipated leap never materialized. Instead, they stumbled to a last-place finish in the NFC North.

Offensively, Chicago struggled to find any rhythm, finishing dead last in total yards per game (284.8) and ranking fifth-worst in points per contest (18.2). The passing attack was particularly anemic, averaging just 181.5 yards per game—second-fewest in the league—and Williams was under constant duress, taking a league-high 66 sacks, the third-most ever recorded in a single season. Despite adding Keenan Allen in free agency and drafting Rome Odunze, the passing game sputtered. Their ground game wasn’t much better, managing just 102.0 rushing yards per outing, the eighth-fewest in the NFL.

Defensively, the Bears fared only marginally better. They allowed the sixth-most total yards per game (354.3), and while their pass defense was decent—ranking 16th at 217.9 yards allowed per game—their run defense was a glaring weakness. Chicago yielded 136.3 rushing yards per game, the fifth-most in the league, struggling all season to slow down opposing backfields.

Starting Offense:

QB Caleb Williams

RB D’Andre Swift

WR DJ Moore

WR Rome Odunze

TE Cole Kmet

Williams failed to live up to the hype in his rookie season but that was in large part due to an atrocious offensive line that resulted in the rookie running for his life. After adding some reinforcements for the unit up front, Williams should fare better in 2025. Losing Keenan Allen in free agency could be a problem but Odunze should step up as the team’s WR2 behind DJ Moore. Despite falling short of a 1,000-yard season, Moore still finished as the WR16 in PPR formats after producing 98 receptions for 966 yards and six trips to the end zone. Kmet just barely finished inside the top 20 tight ends, taking a step back, but he should be featured more in 2025.

Swift had a decent but unspectacular debut season in Chicago and the Bears would absolutely LOVE to get Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. If he’s there at the No. 10 pick, it’s tough to envision them selecting anyone else. However, most pundits expect him to go to the Raiders with the sixth pick. Outside of the running back position, Chicago’s biggest needs are the defensive and offensive line.

Chicago Bears 2025 NFL Draft Picks

Round 1: 10th

Round 2: 39th, 41st

Round 3: 72nd

Round 5: 148th

Round 7: 233rd, 240th

In my latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft, Chicago added an offensive lineman in Missouri’s Armand Membou with the No. 10 pick who can shield Williams from opposing pass rushers after allowing the most sacks in the league.

The Bears would love to land Ashton Jeanty but assuming they are unable to move up in the draft, they won’t hesitate to take Missouri’s Armand Membou with the No. 10 pick. Caleb Williams took a league-high 66 sacks in his rookie season (third-most in NFL history) and although the Bears have already begun to address the issue during free agency, Membou would be the final piece to a miraculous makeover to the unit up front.

Armand Membou in 2024:

- 392 pass-blocking snaps
- ZERO sacks allowed
- ZERO QB hits allowed pic.twitter.com/VwXiIPGckq
— PFF (@PFF) March 31, 2025

After missing out on Jeanty, Chicago may target Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson with one of their two second-round selections. A powerful yet explosive runner, Johnson would be an ideal complement to D’Andre Swift and would prove to be a massive upgrade over second-string running back Roschon Johnson. Last season at Iowa, he rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns.

With the No. 41 pick, Chicago should probably address that defensive line that struggled so much in 2024. If Texas A&M pass rusher Nic Scourton is still available, he could emerge as a Year 1 starter.