Patriots Leak Details About Bears’ Trade Offer During NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears stayed put at No. 39 overall in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft and selected Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III, but a new behind-the-scenes video indicates they originally had a different plan in mind.

On May 16, the New England Patriots aired the first episode of “Forged in Foxborough” on their team website and official YouTube channel, offering fans a behind-the-scenes look into the team’s war room on draft night and some of the decisions they considered.

One featured moment in the episode came when the Patriots were on the clock with the No. 38 overall pick and began receiving calls from teams interested in trading up for the selection. At about the 58-minute mark, a Patriots front-office staffer declares the Bears have offered the 39th pick and a seventh-rounder to move up one spot to No. 38 overall.

In a follow-up report, ESPN insider Mike Reiss touched upon the Bears’ effort to trade up for the 38th pick and divulged that “the assumption is that they wanted running back TreVeyon Henderson,” whom the Patriots ended up taking with the selection.

Instead, the Bears missed out on Henderson and drafted Burden at No. 39, leaving the running back position unaddressed until the seventh round when they selected Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai with the pick they had offered to the Patriots to move up in Round 2.

TreVeyon Henderson Would Have Made Sense for Bears

While the Patriots’ behind-the-scenes video verifies the Bears’ attempt at trading up in the second round along with the compensation they offered to move up one selection, this is not the first time we have heard about Chicago’s interest in landing Henderson.

ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported the Bears aimed to “fortify their backfield in the second round of the draft” in her May 10 article about the team’s post-draft outlook, writing that they “felt strongest” about Henderson as a second-round target because they felt his receiving and pass-blocking capabilities fit well within their new offense.

Indeed, Henderson would have made sense for the Bears. The former Ohio State star averaged a career-high 7.1 yards per carry during his senior season in 2024, finishing with 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 144 carries. He also caught 27 passes for 284 yards and one receiving touchdown, looking like a potential three-down NFL back.

Even with their initial plans foiled, though, Chicago still landed a playmaker at No. 39.

Bears Likely Pivoted to Best-Player-Available Approach

The Bears did not land their desired running back in the second round, but they still walked away with a fine consolation prize in Burden — if you can even call him that.

Burden caught 192 passes for 2,263 yards and 21 touchdowns across his three seasons at Missouri and was viewed as a potential first-round pick coming into the draft despite a dropoff in production — due to various team factors — in 2024. While the Bears seem to have initially wanted a running back at No. 39, their decision to take Burden suggests that they pivoted to a best-player-available approach when they missed out on one.

Ultimately, the Bears drafting Burden instead of a running back could pay off for them in the long run. Quarterback Caleb Williams will now head into his second NFL season with a much-improved offensive line and two promising new pass-catchers in the fold between Burden and former Michigan tight end Colston Loveland, a top-10 selection.

The Bears must still decide whether their backfield is strong enough with its current personnel over the next several weeks. D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson are back as the team’s top two contributors from the 2024 season, but their draft strategy indicates they wanted another heavy-hitter that they did not get despite adding Monangai late.

If the Bears roll out an effective running game in 2025, though, the lamentations about the running backs they did not acquire in the NFL draft could quickly melt away.