Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson knew what they had to address this offseason. The Bears’ general manager and head coach identified the offensive and defensive lines as weaknesses and prioritized changing the outlook of those two rooms.
"I think the clearer the vision, the more aggressive you can be, and that's important," Poles said during the week of the NFL Scouting Combine. "You want to be selective in free agency … but if there are certain players that kind of hit all the checked boxes that you need, there's really no reason to hold back. I feel like you can be aggressive in those situations."
The Bears’ brass executed their aggressive approach and upgraded the trenches. The offensive line has a completely different interior after trading for two Pro Bowl guards in Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney and signing center Drew Dalman. The defensive line gained a young pass rusher in Dayo Odeyingbo and a veteran tackle in Grady Jarrett.
Project overhaul the trenches has started and made significant progress, but it isn’t over. Poles needs to continue building up both lines in this upcoming draft to finish what he started, and that begins with the Bears’ No. 10 overall pick.
There has been a lot of discussion, among Bears fans and some media, about potentially using that first-round draft pick on a skilled player like Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and now North Carolina back Omarion Hampton has begun to enter the discussion.
Of the three, Jeanty should be the only realistic option for the Bears. He would help Johnson, Caleb Williams and the revamped offensive line. But it almost seems inevitable right now that the Raiders will take him at No. 6. Of course, anything can happen in the draft.
Even though it would be tempting to take a player like Jeanty, that move would mean potentially neglecting to add the left tackle of the future or another pass rusher to provide depth to the defensive line.
This upcoming draft will provide plenty of options for the Bears. The offensive tackle position features guys like LSU's Will Campbell, Missouri's Armand Membou, Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. and Ohio State's Josh Simmons. At defensive end, there is Georgia's Mykel Williams, Tennessee's James Pearce Jr., Marshall's Mike Green and Texas A&M's Shemar Stewart. All are projected to be first-round picks and could be available at pick 10 or even later if the Bears choose to move back in the first round.
Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times, and the Bears finished with the 25th-lowest total rushing yards. The defense couldn’t stop the run, giving up 136.3 yards per game (28th most) and ended with 40 sacks (16th). The Bears made some much-needed additions, but they still need to keep upgrading the two position groups.
The Bears have seven total picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but only three are in the top 50. It’s within that range where the Bears should look to continue upgrading the line with more talented prospects and not uncertain projections. If the Bears draft any position group that isn’t an offensive or defensive linemen, that limits the opportunities the team has for completing the project it started in March.
Technically, the Bears could still draft players in the trenches with picks 72 (Rd. 3), 148 (Rd. 5), 233 (Rd. 7) or 240 (Rd.7), but the likelihood those picks will translate to reliable talent that will help the team out now is low. Especially pick 72 when you consider Poles’ previous third-round picks: Kiran Amegadjie (2024), Zacch Pickens (2023) and Velus Jones Jr. (2022).
The Bears need to stick to their board and draft players based on the grades they have created and worked on for months. Drafting solely for need gets teams in trouble and means they overlook better players.
And there will, of course, be next year’s draft if the Bears elect not to use high draft capital on the trenches, but that just pushes the project they started down the round, which doesn’t guarantee it will ever be completed.
Many Bears’ general managers of the past failed or neglected to invest in the two foundational position groups and it even took Poles until the start of Year 4 to really commit to it, but he has an opportunity to finish it in this upcoming draft.