The 2025 NFL Draft is more than three months away. And before he arrives, the Chicago Bears will sign a long list of veteran free agents who will shake up their current roster needs. But some holes in the list can’t just be filled in free agency; General manager Ryan Poles needs to commit a first-round pick or two to the cause.
This cause? Improve the offensive line. The Bears can never again subject Caleb Williams to 68 sacks, the highest total in the league and the team record for the 2024 season. But the current state of affairs along the offensive line suggests that there has a lot of work to do to avoid this kind of catastrophic outcome.
Left tackle Braxton Jones played at a replaceable level this year and his season ended with a leg injury that will take some time to recover from. Left guard Teven Jenkins will be an unrestricted free agent, and there’s a good chance he won’t return. Center Coleman Shelton should never wear a Bears uniform again, while the right guard is like a field block with nothing on it. It’s “for sale”.
So yes, even if the Poles spend big money on two new starters for the offensive line in free agency, the Chicago Bears will. always I still have two places to fill.
As a result, it’s no surprise that the first round of the 2025 NFL Mock Drafts narrowed the Bears’ pick at No. 10 overall to two players: LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell Jr. and offensive tackle of Texas Kelvin Banks Jr.
According to the NFL Mock Draft DatabaseCampbell is the most popular mocked prospect in Chicago, with 29.4% of published mock drafts pegging him as the Bears’ pick. Banks come in second with 21.9%.
NFL Draft analysts and Bears fans have the right idea. Chicago needs to use the 10th overall pick on a blue-chip talent, even though neither Campbell nor Banks are surefire offensive tackles in the pros. Both prospects have scouting reports split between playing on the edge or moving inside to guard.
But as noted above, that doesn’t matter to the Bears. They could have as many as two or three starting jobs up for grabs during draft weekend. All the Poles have to do is select an offensive lineman in the first round with the type of diverse skill set needed to play against one of them.
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