Windy City Gridiron
Here’s an attempt to get inside the heads at Halas Hall
The Chicago Bears like Ashton Jeanty... and Will Campbell... and Mykel Williams... and Tyler Warren... and... The information on the Chicago Bears has been all over the place when it comes to the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bears want to trade up. The Bears want to trade down.
We’ve heard it all. For that, we need to tip our cap to Halas Hall. Either they have done a wonderful job gassing up the media with all sorts of misleads, or they’ve been so quiet that the media is guessing.
Either way, that means the Bears have most likely done a good job masking their true intentions. But does that mean we shrug our shoulders and wait until Thursday night? Of course not. Here’s a best guess as to what the Chicago Bears' big board looks like for pick number 10.
For this exercise, we are going to eliminate Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, and Abdul Carter from the board, but with the idea that any other player could be available at 10.
(Subject to be wildly inaccurate)
I feel like the smoke here has to be from an actual fire. “Ben Johnson is smitten” is something that’s circulated in the league. People from every angle feel the Bears' interest in Jeanty is genuine. The question is, how strong is the interest? Would the Bears just wait and see if he drops to 10? Or will they be aggressive and trade up to the 5th or 7th spot to go grab the Boise State running back?
There are plenty of questions as to where Will Campbell would play at the NFL level. I feel pretty confident that the Bears see him as an LT. Ryan Poles mentioned bringing in competition for Braxton Jones and Campbell would certainly be that, and allow the Bears to have their LT on a rookie contract through 2028, which would be helpful when they are paying three IOL, and Darnell Wright’s extension should be 12 months away. Ben Johnson wants a strong offensive line, and the IOL investment in free agency should only be the beginning.
I believe that if the Bears can’t land their weapon of choice in Jeanty or the OL they like the most, they would be comfortable moving back. The question is, can they find a partner? Plenty of NFL insiders are reporting that the Houston Texans want to move up aggressively to grab Kelvin Banks. Banks will most likely be there at 10 (but he could go before that). Could the Bears make a move that could net them a 2026 first-round pick? Even if it didn’t, the compensation could be something like the Texans' picks at 25, 58, 89, and a 2026 2nd or 3rd round pick as well. Perhaps a smaller trade back to Indianapolis so they can come up and...
