The current Chicago Bears roster has only one position set in stone: Quarterback. (Okay, the kicking game is also locked in, but is punter really a position? Meh.)
Every other unit on the Chicago Bears roster is—or at least should be—ripe for a major upgrade.
This 2025 draft class doesn’t offer any true franchise-fixers—outside of maybe Travis Hunter, there’s nary a Joe Burrow, a Myles Garrett, or an Orlando Pace to be seen—but there are plenty of potentially helpful options for the Bears at the ten-spot.
The question for Bears GM Ryan Poles is, what position should get the love?
QUARTERBACK
They’re set. Next.
RUNNING BACK
If you’re the Chicago Bears, do you look at your 2024 stat sheet and think, “Man, our running game was stellar”?
Nope.
Chicago’s ostensible RB1, D’Andre Swift, managed 894 yards on the ground, with career-lows in success rate (43.8%) and yards per rush (3.8).
As a team, the Bears ranked ninth-from-last in rushing yards, a number that would’ve been considerably lower had Caleb Williams not run for 479 yards.
Ashton Jeanty would look smashing in the blue-and-orange, and if he’s available when the Bears are on the clock, they should grab him, then fix the trenches with their remaining picks.
WIDE RECEIVER
Bringing in a shiny new object at the wide receiver position when you spent a top-10 first round pick on Rome Odunze less than one calendar year ago might not be the best use of draft capital.
But they do need a body or two in the receivers room, especially if they’re not planning to re-sign Keenan Allen, so it might not be a bad idea to use a day two pick on a pass-catcher.
TIGHT END
Two things:
- Bears tight end Cole Kmet is eminently average.
- There aren’t any Brock Bowerses in the 2025 NFL Draft.
All of which means Chicago could (and probably should) grab a TE, but said TE shouldn’t be grabbed in the first round.
Michigan’s Colston Loveland looks like the real deal, but Poles needn’t address the position until day two or three, when he can consider somebody like Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers.
Because Kmet ain’t the answer.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE / OFFENSIVE GUARD
If the Bears’ brass isn’t on board with grabbing Jeanty in the first round, Will Campbell could be the guy.
The 6′ 6″, 324 pounder out of LSU is one of the best—if not the best—tackles in the Draft, and a tantalizing number of mock drafts have him still on the board around Bear-time.
The O-line needs a ton of work, and round one would be a great time to kick off the rebuild.
CENTER
Center is arguably the weakest position in the 2025 Draft (and, for that matter, one of the weakest positions on Chicago’s roster), but that might work in the Bears’ favor, as USC’s Jonah Monheim—the same Jonah Monheim who snapped a ball or three to one Caleb Williams during their respective Trojans era—could be available on day two.
So note to Ryan Poles: No first round centers allowed.
EDGE
EDGE is as deep as center is shallow.
Chicago’s 2024 EDGE room wasn’t great, with Montez Sweat compiling 5.5 sacks (down seven from 2023), and DeMarcus Walker racking up 3.5. Nine combined takedowns from your starting ends is unacceptable.
That said, since there are so many goodies to choose from, waiting until day two for a new EDGE should be the move…that is, unless Abdul Carter somehow slips. Which won’t happen.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Michigan’s Mason Graham is the consensus go-to, with multiple outlets having him picked in the top-five, so the likelihood of seeing Graham in a Bears uni is, um, unlikely.
Chicago has two high second-round picks, so day two on this position feels about right.
LINEBACKER
Coming into the 2024 seasons, PFF ranked Chicago’s linebacking unit as the third-best in the league. They haven’t lived up to the hype, but with T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds signed through, respectively, the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the position can wait.
CORNERBACK
What with Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Terrell Smith, and Tyrique Stevenson in the CB room, the Bears don’t need a corner in the first round. Or the second. Or the third.
Unless it’s Travis Hunter.
SAFETY
Most Bears watchers will point to the line as their defense’s weak spot, but things ain’t exactly popping in Safety Land either.
Kevin Byard III and Jonathan Owens were competent enough in 2024, but both have some tread on the tires—Byard is 31, while Owens is 29—so an infusion of young blood wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Do they need an infusion of first-round blood, though?
If it’s Georgia’s Malaki Sparks is around, it’s worth a conversation. But if Sparks is gone, revisit the position on day three.
THE FINAL TALLY
This thought exercise is all about logic, so considering team needs and Draft depth, Poles’ positional priorities, removing quarterback and special teams from the equation, could be as such:
1) Offensive Line
2) EDGE
3) Safety
4) Running Back
5) Center
6) Tight End
7) Defensive Tackle
8) Linebacker
9) Wide Receiver
10) Cornerback
Yep, wide receiver and cornerback at the bottom of the barrel.
Unless it’s Travis Hunter.
