• The Bears should go get their tackle: Armand Membou is the most natural (and available) left tackle in the class.

• If Ashton Jeanty is gone, trading pick No. 10 is the best option: The Bears can take advantage of Josh Simmons‘ injury situation and get more capital by trading back.

• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Every NFL draft has a series of pivot points, where the scope of everything hinges on one team’s decision to aggressively move up or gamble for more value and trade back. 

Looking at last year’s first round, the inflection point wasn’t a trade, but instead, it was the first defensive player taken — UCLA edge Laiatu Latu — by the Indianapolis Colts, finally at Pick No. 15. This set off a run of six of the next eight picks falling on the defensive side of the ball, five of the six being linemen. 

In the middle of that run, the Jacksonville Jaguars took advantage by trading back from Pick No. 17 with the Minnesota Vikings (who selected Dallas Turner) to Pick No. 23 for Brian Thomas Jr. That paid huge dividends for the Jaguars, as Thomas’ outstanding rookie season was capped by a Pro Bowl appearance and they acquired Minnesota’s 2025 third- and fourth-round picks.

While trying to predict something like a run of 14 straight picks on one side of the ball to start a draft seems daunting, with the first wave of free agency complete, we should be ready to have more detailed discussions on team needs as well as how those needs tie into prospect values. 

This series will examine five teams currently in draft slots that could serve as potential inflection points. By looking at the potential targets of these teams relative to the draft boards, we’ll go through each team’s options not only at their current slot but also at slots after trading backward and forward. Next up are the Bears, slated to pick at No. 10 overall but in a position to make a big move due to strong roster construction. Click here for our previous article on the Panthers.

Chicago Bears

After starting the 2024 season 4-2, the Bears stumbled the rest of the way, not winning another game until the final week of the season against a Green Bay squad resting starters in preparation for the playoffs. Head coach Matt Eberflus was fired after a time management debacle cost Chicago its Thanksgiving Day matchup against Detroit. 

Shortly after the season, the Bears tabbed Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach, and it will be his task to amp up the progression of last year’s No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Caleb Williams. He takes over a roster that looks very strong on paper and has few glaring needs, but Johnson still has work to do on the offensive side of the ball to put Williams in the best possible position to succeed.

THE NEEDS

Chicago’s defense is largely set. Free agency saw the Bears add interior defender Grady Jarrett, as well as edge defender Dayo Odeyingbo — one of the best value signings of free agency. The Bears will certainly look to add depth on the backend via the draft, but it’s the offense that has the most critical needs to fill. 

While Williams caused much of his own pressure (his 17 charged sacks ranked first among quarterbacks in 2024), the offensive line play wasn’t much better, allowing a league-high 39 sacks to go with 199 total pressures (ninth most). Unsurprisingly, the Bears have aggressively attacked the interior concerns, first trading later-round picks for veteran guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, followed by the free-agent signing of center Drew Dalman. With 2023 first-round selection Darnell Wright already established at right tackle, that leaves just the left tackle spot to question. 

Braxton Jones slots in there for now, but his status is in question, considering his season ended early due to a broken ankle in Week 16. 2024 third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie figures to be part of the equation, as well, but considering Chicago’s likely proximity to the first offensive lineman in the draft, the team could opt for a new face at left tackle.

Elsewhere on offense, tight end Cole Kmet is under contract for three more seasons, but his inconsistent play (58.6 PFF receiving grade in 2024) could have the Bears considering an upgrade. DJ Moore and Rome Odunze look like a potentially formidable duo at receiver, but Keenan Allen‘s departure in the offseason leaves the corps dangerously thin behind them. 

Probably the most glaring need on offense is at running back. D’Andre Swift is slated as the starter, but Johnson has already moved on from him once while in Detroit, as the Lions traded Swift to the Eagles during the 2023 NFL Draft for a Day 3 pick. Behind him on the depth chart are Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer, neither of whom has inspired the confidence required to suggest they can take over a lead back role.

THE TRADE-UP TARGET

Unfortunately for Chicago, this is not a deep draft for left tackles. Will Campbell is at the top of the group on PFF’s board as the No. 6 overall prospect, but his short arms will likely leave teams concerned about his ability to consistently protect the edge, which could necessitate a move inside to center or guard. Next on PFF’s board is Missouri’s Armand Membou, but due to an excellent senior season (90.6 PFF overall grade with no sacks or hits surrendered), a strong NFL Combine performance (4.91-second 40-yard dash with a 34-inch vertical) and a lack of other options at such a premium position, the Bears will likely need to move up to snag him.

In the first article of this series, I suggested thePanthers could trade up to New England’s spot at No. 4. The Bears should consider trading up, as well. They will almost certainly need to jump in front of the Jets (at No. 7) and the Patriots (now at No. 8) to secure Membou, but the Jaguars at No. 5 look like the perfect trade partner. They’re likely in the market for an offensive playmaker or a top-end defensive interior, and swapping with Chicago to No. 10 (while picking up additional capital) should not take them out of range of their targets.

With the Bears holding an extra second-round pick in this draft, they should be able to afford the move up the board to lock in the last piece to the offensive line for the foreseeable future. 

STAY THE COURSE

Seemingly every expert mock draft to date has the Bears taking Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 10, and this is one instance where I agree with the thought process. As mentioned earlier, this roster has very few clear holes, and Jeanty could be a difference-maker for Ben Johnson, similar to what he had in Detroit with Jahmyr Gibbs (whom Detroit drafted 12th overall in 2023).

Jeanty’s 2024 season was truly Barry Sanders-esque, as he accounted for 2,601 rushing yards and 29 scores while forcing a PFF-era record 158 missed tackles. He averaged 5.2 yards after first contact and had 66 explosive runs, repeatedly displaying the breakaway speed needed to turn first downs into long touchdowns. 

2024 also taught us that running backs do indeed matter again in the NFL, as huge seasons from Gibbs, Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley (the league’s offensive player of the year) and Baltimore’s Derrick Henry helped their respective teams put up historic efficiency numbers on offense.

If Jones appears to be progressing well coming off his injury, or if the Bears feel optimistic about Amegadjie taking the next step, they could be comfortable enough with the current makeup of their offensive line to take a chance on Jeanty.

THE VALUE PLAY

There are no rules prohibiting the Bears from looking for even more value despite already owning two second-round picks, and with the strong possibility of Chicago being on the clock at No. 10 with both Membou and Jeanty long gone, a trade back may be the smartest course of action.

After selecting Rome Odunze eighth overall in last year’s draft, the Bears are unlikely to be in on Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, but with Dallas lurking at Pick No. 12, other teams could be motivated to move up to Chicago’s slot to lock up the dynamic pass catcher. 

Trading back a few spots could make it easier for Chicago to stomach taking a risk on a tackle like Josh Simmons, who all things being equal would likely be an easy selection at No. 10 if not for his ACL injury. While he played just five full games in 2024 before his injury in a Week 7 October matchup against Oregon, Simmins allowed no sacks or hits on 158 pass-blocking reps. He displayed similar dominance in 2023, surrendering just one sack and five hits on 408 pass-blocking snaps. He may not solve a potential “now” problem, but he certainly has the look of a long-term blind-side protector for Williams.

The other option in a trade-down is a bit more creative but is similar to the Jeanty line of thinking with taking the best available offensive weapon. This time, however, instead of a running back, the Bears could instead target one of the two elite tight end prospects: Penn State’s Tyler Warren or Michigan’s Colston Loveland. 

Yes, the Bears have Cole Kmet under contract for three more seasons, but his career in Chicago to date has been at best uneven, and there’s little in his history to suggest he can progress to the level of play expected out of this year’s two ace prospects at the position. Possibly more importantly, his contract structure gives the Bears several easy outs, including the ability to outright cut him with a post-June 1 designation, which would save the club $10 million against the cap and cause a dead hit of just $1.6 million. Even if they decide to keep Kmet on the roster for now for his veteran experience, the Raiders set the precedent for that by taking Brock Bowers in the first round last season, just one year after selecting Michael Mayer with the 35th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Warren was one of the true breakout players of the 2024 college season, as he racked up 1,451 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns. Penn State lined him up all over the place to take advantage of his versatility and physical dominance, which led to him notching 35 explosive receiving plays, six explosive runs and 30 total forced missed tackles. 

Loveland would hardly be considered a consolation prize if the Bears opted for him instead of Warren. He was utilized in-line more often than his contemporary due to Michigan’s traditional scheme, but he is a dynamic weapon in his own right who does an excellent job of creating separation with his frame and efficient route-running. While his numbers aren’t as splashy as Warren’s due to the complete lack of other receiving weapons in the woeful Wolverines passing offense, he still managed to post a 90.6 PFF receiving grade, third best in college football — behind only Harold Fannin Jr. of Bowling Green (96.4) and Warren (93.4).

Whatever direction the Bears decide to go with the 10th pick, it’s hard to argue that the way to put Caleb Williams in the best position to succeed long term isn’t to give him an elite tight end prospect to add to an already dynamic pass-catching group that includes Rome Odunze and DJ Moore.