A new mock draft has the Chicago Bears landing a plug-and-play offensive lineman

Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. holds down the fort.
Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. holds down the fort. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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A typical off-season 2025 conversation between two Chicago Bears fans:

  • Fan #1: Draft.
  • Fan #2: Right.
  • Fan #1: O-lineman?
  • Fan #2: Totally.

This isn’t to say that every member of Bears Nation wants GM Ryan Poles to address the offensive trenches—there are a goodly number of Ashton Jeanty truthers out there, with a handful of folks crossing their fingers that Poles can work some magic and swing a trade-up deal for EDGE Abdul Carter.

The Athletic, however, is all trenches, all the time.

Take it to the Banks

In their January 28 mock draft, Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman have the Monsters grabbing Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., writing, “Banks (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman and has positional flexibility. The Bears need a plug-and-play offensive lineman in the worst way, and Banks will start somewhere on day one.”

Baumgardner and Dochterman’s Athletic colleague Dane Brugler isn’t quite as high on Banks, ranking him 18th on his big board, explaining, “Whether you like him best at tackle or guard (NFL teams are split), Banks is a quality offensive lineman because of his ability to maintain leverage and create force through his body mechanics. He spends too much time on the ground, but the tools are there for him to become an immediate NFL starter.”

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. slots Banks at the ten-spot, and is notably higher on the 20-year-old than Brugler: “Amazingly, he gave up only three sacks. He has the mobility to quickly block off the edge and then the frame and strength to take care of power rushers. He just needs to become more consistent in the run game as a blocker.”

Banks wouldn’t be a particularly sexy pick, but this Bears roster doesn’t need sexiness—it needs grit. And Kelvin Banks might give them just that.


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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.