Chicago Bears 2025 NFL Draft Preview

Chicago Bears 2025 NFL Draft Preview

Last year, the Bears had the #1 overall pick and selected QB Caleb Williams out of USC, as predicted. This year, it’s a little harder to predict who GM Ryan Poles will select. It’s tougher because his first pick isn’t until #10, and also, because there is no sure player, or obvious position to select. Not only that, but it looks to be a wild draft, at least that’s what some are saying, including Poles. I have a feeling that trades will be made, especially to grab RB Ashton Jeanty from Boise St. I don’t see Jeanty falling further than #6 to the Raiders, and so several teams may trade up to #5 to nab him. Of course, we always have quarterback drama. Remember last year? Six of the top 12 players picked were quarterbacks. That was outrageous, and fun! Remember how we were all bagging on Atlanta for drafting Michael Penix at #8 even though they had just signed Kirk Cousins to a gigantic contract!?

Chicago Bears 2025 Draft Picks – (7 picks)

1. Round 1, #10 (#10 Overall)
2. Round 2, #7 (#39 Overall)
3. Round 2, #9 (#41 Overall)
4. Round 3, #8 (#72 Overall)
5. Round 5, #10 (#148 Overall)
6. Round 7, #17 (#233 Overall)
7. Round 7, #24 (#240 Overall)

---

Let’s do a Mock Draft to see what may happen, and who may be available for the Bears first selection.

#1 Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward/QB/Miami – Looks like the Titans are most definitely taking Cam Ward, unless we’ve all been duped.

#2 Cleveland Browns – Abdul Carter/Edge/Penn St.

#3 New York Giants – Travis Hunter/WR/CB/Colorado – Will he play both ways?

#4 New England Patriots – Mason Graham/DT/Michigan

#5 Jacksonville Jaguars – Armand Membou/OT/Missouri – He’s getting a ton of hype, but potential bust here, as some scouts say he might need to move inside to OG.

#6 Las Vegas Raiders – Ashton Jeanty/RB/Boise St.

#7 New York Jets -Shedeur Sanders/QB/Colorado – It would be interesting if both New York teams took the Colorado kids. Shedeur seems like a Jets type of pick, but I think he’ll be a bust.

#8 Carolina Panthers – Jalon Walker/LB/Georgia

#9 New Orleans Saints – Tetairoa McMillan/WR/Arizona

#10 Chicago Bears – Will Campbell/OT/LSU/6’6″ 320/PS#7/NFL Comparison: Lane Johnson/Philadelphia – Despite Poles going out and getting three new Offensive Linemen already this offseason, we don’t think he should stop, especially because the most important position on this line, Left Tackle, is the most questionable for new HC Ben Johnson. The recent starting LT has been Braxton Jones, but we all think (we know?) he’s not the answer. Therefore, Poles and his coaches need to either switch RT Darnell Wright over to LT, or draft a new LT. We think the correct move is to leave Wright at his RT position, in which he’s already shown promise, and draft a new LT who has played the position extensively against the highest competition. Drafting Campbell out of LSU makes sense because he’s faced stiff SEC competition, starting for all three years at LT. He’s a three-time ALL-SEC guy with solid fundamentals. His frame (6-6 324), strength, power, and footwork lead me to believe he’ll stick at OT, although his supposed weakness is his sub-par arm length. Some scouts believe he’ll have to move inside to OG because of these short arms but I don’t believe it. I look for football players more than measurements and I believe Campbell has what it takes to make it as a Left Tackle.

IF Campbell is already gone, then I’d take Kelvin Banks/OT/Texas/6’4″ 325/PS#3

IF Banks is already gone, then I’d move on to another position. In this case, I believe Poles should draft a DE/Edge Rusher who can compete right away for the starting DE opposite Montez Sweat. Let’s go with: Mykel Williams/DE/Edge/Georgia/6’5″ 265/PS#4

IF all three of those players are gone, then let’s look at Will Johnson/CB/Michigan/6’2″ 200/PS#6, Jahdae Barron/CB/Texas/5’11” 192/PS#144, OR Tyler Warren/TE/Penn St./6’6″ 255/PS#23.

IF all of these players have been taken, ALL of them, then let’s just draft Leonard Fournette. Just kidding. Let’s go with a trade down.

Round 2 (#39 Overall) – Kaleb Johnson/RB/Iowa/6’0″ 225/PS#42/NFL Comparison: Jamaal Williams/RB/New Orleans – Obviously the succeeding picks are dependent on the initial pick. We’re not taking players from the same position, so IF Poles does not get Ashton Jeanty in the 1st round, then he might take an RB with one of these two 2nd round selections. We’ve heard rumors/rumours (Fleetwood Mac?) that Poles and Coach Johnson like Kaleb Johnson from iowa (remember when iowa used all lower-case font for their logo back in the 80s or 90s?) Anyway, Kaleb Johnson is a big freight train of a back with both power and speed. He had an awesome season in 2024, rushing for 1537 yards and 21 TD’s for the Hawkeyes.

Round 2 (#41 Overall) – J.T. Tuimoloau/DE/Ohio St./6’4″ 275/PS#3/NFL Comparison: Richard Seymour/New England retired HOF DE/DT – If Poles gets an OT and an RB with his first two selections, how about a DE/Edge rusher with his 3rd pick? J.T. Tuimoloau was a sometimes nasty pass rusher for Ohio State’s National Championship winning defense. Was he inconsistent? Perhaps. Is that why he’s available at #41? Sure! Tuimoloau could be the next Richard Dent.

Round 3 (#72 Overall) – Xavier Watts/S/Notre Dame/6’0″ 203/PS#67/NFL Comparison: Antoine Winfield/Tampa Bay – Watts intercepted 13 passes over the last two seasons, including 7 for last year’s National Runner-Up Notre Dame. He’s an intelligent safety, reminding me a little bit of my all-time favorite Bears Safety, #30 Mike Brown. Could Watts be as good as Brown? Who knows?!

Round 5 (#148 Overall) – Kaden Prather/WR/Maryland/6’3″ 210/PS#50/NFL Comparison: Alvin Harper/retired Cowboys WR, also 6’3″ 210/Michael Irvin’s #2 receiver – This offense still needs weapons, even with D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze under contract for awhile. But don’t forget that Keenan Allen is gone after one so-so season. Prather might never be a #1 WR, but the Bears don’t need that. Instead, they want a big, physical, complementary receiver to help Moore and Odunze. Prather might be a great fit for Coach Johnson’s offense.

Round 7 (#233 Overall) – Terrance Ferguson/TE/Oregon/6’5.5″ 247/PS#9/NFL Comparison: George Kittle/TE/San Francisco – We’ve seen Ferguson ranked anywhere from as high as the 3rd, to as low as the 7th round. If he’s still here in the 7th, let’s do it Poles! Ferguson is a really special athlete. Have you seen this kid in the open field? He’s got long strides and can motor. He reminds me of Kittle a bit. He was a major weapon for the Oregon Ducks. However, he had one of those seasons where he kept getting tackled on the one yard line. If he had scored on all of these, he’d probably be a bigger name in the Draft books this year. In four seasons at Oregon, he scored 2, 5, 6, and 3 TD’s. He has high potential. His ceiling is up there, so why not draft a guy like this as Cole Kmet’s backup?

Round 7 (#240 Overall) – Rylie Mills/DT/Notre Dame/6’5″ 297/PS#21/NFL Comparison: Leonard Williams/Seattle – A local kid from Lake Forest, Mills played five years at ND, establishing himself as a difference maker this past season. I saw him in high school, and he was a big, dominant DT. He went off the college, where he got bigger and stronger and better in five seasons at Notre Dame. I like his motor.

---

Dutch Lion’s Favorite Players in this ’25 Draft

• Ty Robinson/DL/Nebraska/NFL Comparison: Harrison Phillips/DT/Minnesota
• Cam Skattebo/RB/Arizona St./NFL Comparison: Mike Alstott/retired RB/Tampa Bay
• Ashton Jeanty/RB/Boise St.
• Xavier Watts/S/Notre Dame
• Jack Sawyer/Edge/Ohio St./NFL Comparison: either of the Bosa boys
• Matthew Golden/WR/Texas/NFL Comparison: Stefon Diggs/WR/Houston
• Cam Ward/QB/Miami/6’1″ 220 – Arm like a cannon, Ward often changes arm angles to make the ball fit in between defenders. Ward has underrated mobility, but he needs to work on ball protection. He’s so calm back there in the pocket, that we nicknamed him “Casual” Cam Ward. He’s casual, calm, collected. He’s a team leader. We highly believe in this guy.
• Tez Johnson/WR/Oregon/NFL Comparison: Tutu Atwell
• Xavier Restrepo/WR/Miami/NFL Comparison: Ladd McConkey
• Savion Williams/WR/TCU

Players who will have very good NFL careers:

• Kurtis Rourke/QB/Indiana/6’5″ 223 – so much experience, Rourke has been around the block, playing 48 games in college since 2019 for Ohio and Indiana. He went 31-15 as a starter, throwing for over 10,000 yards, 79 TD’s, and 21 INT’s. Rourke’s brother is a successful player in Canada for the CFL. Rourke looks like he might be at least a journeyman backup in the NFL, if not more.
• Omarion Hampton/RB/North Carolina
• Matthew Golden/WR/Texas – I was sooooo impressed by Golden last season. This kid was clutch. He made a lot of big plays for the Longhorns. I think his body control was excellent.
• Savion Williams/WR/TCU/6’5″ 225/NFL Comparison: Cordarrelle Patterson – Savion is very versatile, earning carries as a wildcat QB/WR last year, rushing 51 times for 322 yards and 6 TD in addition to his 60 catches for 611 yards and 6 TD’s. Like longtime NFL standout Patterson, Williams has the ability to be a weapon as both a receiver and running back.
• Abdul Carter/EDGE/Penn St./6’3″ 252/NFL Comparison: Micah Parsons – Could he really follow in Parson’s footsteps? It seems unlikely, but his background is similar, wearing #11 at Penn State. He had 12 sacks and 23.5 TFL’s last year, and 4 PBU’s too.
• James Pearce/EDGE/Tennessee/NFL Comparison: Leonard Floyd – Lean like Leonard Floyd, he puts the heat on opposing QB’s
• Harold Fannin/TE/Bowling Green
• Tre Harris/WR/Ole Miss

Players who will be busts:

• Shedeur Sanders/QB/Colorado/6’2″ 215 – attitude problem, unprofessional, entitled, may have a hard time “leading” a team in the huddle
• Jalen Milroe/QB/Alabama/6’2″ 225 – a great runner, but can he pass efficiently?
• Josh Simmons/OT/Ohio St./6’5″ 310 – injured in ’24, formerly at San Diego St. so little experience vs good competition
• Walter Nolen/DT/Ole Miss/6’3″ 305 – got by with physical talent, but didn’t make technical improvements such as leverage, pad level, hand usage, etc.
• Dillon Gabriel/QB/Oregon/6’0″ 200 – Gabriel started at UCF, then Oklahoma, then Oregon. He played in 64 games, winning 46 games and losing just 17. Why am I down on him? He’s only 6’0″, he’s a lefty (a HUGE red flag in my world, lol), and his arm talent seemed weak. He’s a poor man’s Tua Tagovailoa, at best. I don’t see Gabriel lasting long in the league. He’s a nice kid, I just don’t see it.

---

That’s it for this year’s NFL Draft Preview. Enjoy the Draft!!!