With exactly one month until the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears should be close to locking in their big board of targets. With the No. 10 pick, the Bears could land a blue-chip prospect. But, with a weaker quarterback class, Chicago could get unlucky, with more non-quarterbacks drafted ahead of them. In most draft classes, there’s at least one quarterback drafted in the first 10 picks of the inaugural round.
Aside from 2022, there hasn’t been an NFL Draft without a quarterback drafted in the top 10 since 2013 when the Buffalo Bills selected EJ Manuel with pick No. 16. So, historically speaking, the Bears should have at least one team ahead of them that takes a quarterback.
Since the Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, there’s no chance they’ll select a quarterback in 2025, leaving other positions open.
But, before looking at how the Bears can attack the draft, what moves has Chicago made to pinpoint their 2025 NFL Draft needs better?
Offseason check-in for ‘Da Bears’
As a team that ended the 2024 season thankful for it to finally be over, they’re looking new and improved with a month until the 2025 NFL Draft.
With an offensive line that needed some TLC in the offseason, the Bears acquired two offensive linemen before free agency even began. Their first move brought in offensive guard Jonah Jackson, who has familiarity with Ben Johnson. Although his 2024 season was one to forget — at the price of a 2025 sixth-round pick — it’s a low-risk addition.
Along with Jackson, Chicago remained aggressive by trading for offensive lineman Joe Thuney. Even at 32 years old, Thuney is one of the best guards the Bears could’ve got for a 2026 fourth-round pick.
With two offensive linemen added, the Bears didn’t stop there, signing center Drew Dalman from the Atlanta Falcons. As one of the more likely moves preceding free agency, the Bears got their guy in the middle, adding the 26-year-old center to boost the offensive line.
While the offensive line was a common criticism of the Bears in 2024, their defensive line wasn’t much better. That was especially true once Andrew Billings was placed on IR with a torn pectoral in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals. Once Billings — the Bears’ best run-stuffer and arguably best pass-rusher — went down, it was game over for their defensive front.
Gervon Dexter Sr. and Montez Sweat are good, but when they’re the only two players on the defensive front who can make an impact, it’s harder for that impact to get recognized.
To combat that for the next year or two, the Bears signed Grady Jarrett, bringing a type of energy Chicago hasn’t seen on the defensive line since Akiem Hicks. So, with the trenches shored up, they have a better idea of what they’ll do in the 2025 NFL Draft, as the Bears’ biggest needs are more pronounced following the first wave of free agency.
Bears’ most significant needs heading into 2025 NFL Draft
RB, EDGE, S, LB
Following the Bears’ free agency frenzy, their list of needs has shrunk, but they’re far from perfect.
Of their needs heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, running back should be at the top of the list. Not only has Ben Johnson shown an affinity for having a strong run game, but he and the Bears’ starting running back, D’Andre Swift, have some history together.
Johnson joined the Lions’ coaching staff in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach, moving up to the tight ends coach and ending as the offensive coordinator. So, from 2019 until 2024, Johnson was relatively intertwined with the Lions’ offense.
And after three seasons of lackluster performance from their early second-round pick (pick No. 35), the Lions traded Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2023 NFL Draft.
Now, as the Bears’ new head coach — a position where he’ll still be heavily tied into the offense — Swift could be on his way out heading into the 2025 season. Even if he stays on the roster in 2025, his usage could dry up significantly, especially with a draft class loaded to the gils with running back talent.
Along with someone to run the football, the Bears desperately need an EDGE on the defense. With Montez Sweat disappearing for most of the 2024 season, Dennis Allen needs a big, strong pass rusher. The Bears somewhat addressed that position by signing Dayo Odeyingbo. However, with just three sacks in 2024, they could look to bring in competition for the entire defensive EDGE group as a whole.
Lastly, the Bears could certainly use some help on the defense in these two areas: linebacker and safety. Both positions could present a case on why they’re a more significant need than the other, in terms of which ranks higher.
For linebackers, the Bears lost linebacker Jack Sanborn in free agency, leaving a hole in their defense at the “Sam” linebacker position, aka the strongside linebacker.
Along with losing Sanborn, the Bears could be in a pickle during the 2025 season if anything happens to Kevin Byard and/or Jaquan Brisker. Byard is getting close to 32 years old, and even with an impressive 2024 campaign, his age gives a reason to be worried about another productive season.
As for Brisker, he missed 12 games in 2024 due to an array of concussions. Brain injuries aren’t to be messed with, so the Bears deserve some props for not rushing a 25-year-old back from a scary head injury. Instead, Brisker was placed on IR, giving him a better chance to recover from his concussions.
So, although he’s still a young player with — hopefully — a long, prosperous career ahead of him, the idea that he could get another head injury drives up the need to acquire a safety — or multiple.
Bears’ 2025 NFL Draft first-round target No. 1
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Penn State: 0.6. Everyone else: 1.72,” Hartitz wrote. “Missed tackles forced per carry: vs. Penn State: 53.3%. Everyone else: 39.4%.”
So, if he’s somehow available, the Bears should be targeting Ashton Jeanty higher than any other realistic prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Bears’ 2025 NFL Draft first-round target No. 2
Will Campbell, OT/OG, LSU
Along with Jeanty, Will Campbell could be slightly out of range for the Bears, but after his measurables got unveiled at the NFL Scouting Combine, it appeared that his draft stock took a dip.
At the beginning of February 2025, Campbell was arguably the highest-ranked offensive tackle in the 2025 NFL Draft class.
However, his arm length came in at 32 5/8 inches, which is historically small.
Now, does the difference between 32 5/8 inches and 33 inches make Campbell undraftable? No, but that’s not to say 33 inches is the league standard for arm length. Most NFL teams prefer tackles with arms that are at least 33 inches based on the data of tackles with sub-33-inch arms, which Campbell is just short of.
When defending against some of the most athletically gifted players on the field — top NFL pass rushers — arm length matters. It’s crucial to keep the pass rusher from getting a hold of the tackle’s breastplate on their shoulder pads. Once a pass rusher has control of the tackle, it’s a losing battle for that offensive lineman.
That’s why the Will Campbell arm-length debate exists. He might be an elite tackle at the college level, but once the difficulty and level of competition increase — even after playing three seasons in the SEC — it’s a part of his NFL draft profile that raises some red flags.
Regardless, however, Campbell is arguably one of the best offensive linemen in this draft class. He was an All-American tackle on an LSU football team that didn’t have a great year, ending the season 9-4. There’s one more tackle — who might even be included on this list — who could be a better NFL product than Campbell. Aside from him, however, Campbell has been locked in as a high first-round draft pick for nearly a year.
Does his arm length cause a reason for concern? Of course, especially for a team looking to draft him early in the first round. But Campbell’s not worried about arm length at all.
There’s a reason that so many scouts were impressed by Campbell as a prospect, and that’s evident in his film. He’s a nasty, physical mauler who should excel at the NFL level.