2025 NFL Mock Draft: Bears insider has Chicago passing on Ashton Jeanty in Round 1

There's a surge of momentum behind the Chicago Bears selecting Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but one Bears insider doesn't see it happening in his mock draft.

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The large contingent of Chicago Bears fans who hope GM Ryan Poles selects Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is not going to like the latest 2025 NFL mock draft from the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs.

Biggs' mock draft deserves close attention from Bears fans. He's the most locked-in team insider on the beat, and if he suggests Poles and the front office will go in a certain direction in the first round, there's a good chance he'll be right.

Remember: this is the NFL Draft. Anything is possible, and even the most informed team insiders can be led astray by their sources during this time of year.

However, the point remains. In his mock draft, Biggs has the Chicago Bears passing on Jeanty, who, in this first-round scenario, is still on the board at the Bears' pick, No. 10 overall.

Instead, Chicago selects LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell in the first round.

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"If arm length weren’t an issue — Campbell measured 32 5/8 inches at the scouting combine — he would be a top-five pick," Biggs wrote. "It’s a fair concern, but plenty of very good left tackles have excelled without ideal arm length (34 inches or longer). The Bears can plug in Campbell at left tackle, and if it proves to be a problem down the road, he always could be an interior anchor."

It's hard to argue with Biggs' projection. If we connect the Chicago Bears' offseason dots, the clear priority has been the offensive line and the trenches in general. For Ryan Poles to suddenly pivot to running back, a position that historically has value on Days 2 and 3, would render the work he's done in the trade and free agency markets incomplete.

The Bears have four positions settled on the offensive line: left guard, center, right guard, and right tackle. But left tackle remains a question mark, regardless of how great a success story Braxton Jones has been so far.

Jones suffered a devastating leg injury at the end of the 2024 season, and he looked like a player who hit his ceiling in the weeks before he went down. If Chicago truly wants to build one of the NFL's top offensive lines, they need a legitimate blue-chipper on the left side.

Campbell, sans his arm length, is that guy. If Poles is confident in his scouting report and has Campbell projected as a left tackle in the NFL, then this pick makes total sense. If, however, the Bears think all of the offensive linemen who will be available at their first-round pick are tackles-turned-guards in the pros, Jeanty suddenly looks much more appealing.

In Biggs' mock draft, Jeanty falls to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 12 overall.

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