As the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, fans are eager to see what the Chicago Bears do. Holding four picks inside the top 72, general manager Ryan Poles holds a lot of power.
For once, the Bears also enter the draft having patched up the majority of their holes via free agency and trades. This roster is in great shape and the Bears can afford to be flexible come draft day.
Yet, fans shouldn't bank on Poles making all of the right moves. He's made some serious mistakes in the past, and until he proves he can nail a draft, fans will be cautious.
Ryan Poles absolutely must not package the Bears' second-round picks to move back into the first round
It happens every year. There are "sure fire" early first-round prospects who don't hear their name called in the top 20 or even top 25.
And, when that happens this year, it might just end up being at a position like offensive or defensive line. Specifically, if an edge rusher is still available late in the second round, it could cause Poles to want to move back up and get him.
The fact Chicago has picks 39 and 41 -- nearly back-to-back picks in the early second round -- is an enormous luxury. Even packaging one of them to move back up into the first round, with a pick from 2026, should be off the table.
Many draft experts will tell you that the talent between picks 20 and 60, in this class, is all extremely similar. There is likely not going to be a huge difference in evaluation between someone the Bears trade up for at say, pick 25, than one they'll get at 39.
The only scenario where this would make sense is if somehow, some way, a player like Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren were there so late -- and there is a zero percent chance of that happening.
The Bears have to avoid Jalon Walker if available at no. 10 overall
While many have Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker as a top-10 pick, he truly isn't a fit in Chicago. He's highly undersized as a true defensive end (6-foot-1, 243 pounds) and does not have the skill set to be a legitimate outside linebacker.
Not to mention, the Bears will only be using two linebackers most of the time, with Kyler Gordon being on the field so much in the slot.
Related Bears news:
This team needs an edge rusher, still, but Walker is not the fit. His lack of size and short arms are reason for concern. If Chicago was running a 3-4 defense, then by all means, take Walker. But, that's not the case.
Ryan Poles cannot afford to trade back with screaming value still on the draft board... but he shouldn't be trusted not to
A complete and total nightmare, for Bears fans, would be seeing running back Ashton Jeanty still on the board at no. 10 overall and Poles chooses to trade out of the pick with a team like the Dallas Cowboys at no. 12, who are also in need of a running back.
If Dallas presented Poles with an offer too rich to refuse, he might just see it as a no-brainer to move back only two spots and acquire some serious additional draft capital.
But, just like he once missed on Jalen Carter, he should not make the same mistake here.