Chicago Bears 2025 NFL mock draft roller coaster—from to Will Campbell, to Omarion Hampton, to Ashton Jeanty

Mock drafters always need to be prepared to pivot, especially when it comes to the Chicago Bears.

If the Chicago Bears go offensive line in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, LSU's Will Campbell might be the guy / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

NFL mock drafting isn’t as easy as it seems.

If you’re doing it right, it’s not about plugging names into slots all willy-nilly. No, it means research. It means attention to detail.

It means flexibility.

The NFL is a 24/7/365 news cycle, and the non-stop barrage of information plays a role in how a franchise’s front office will attack the real draft. If the Ryan Poleses of the world can pivot, we mockers have to pivot, too. Like just because your February 17 mock draft feels perfect doesn’t mean it’ll look realistic on February 18.

On that, I can speak from personal experience.

Mock ‘n Roll

Here on BEARS ON SI, I’ve dropped eight, count ‘em, eight Chicago-centric mocks, some first-round only, some three-rounders, and some the full seven. In order to keep this article at a reasonable length, we’ll focus solely on Chicago's first round selections.

Below are mine:

January 15

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

February 11

Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State (via trade with NYG)

February 22

Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama (via trade with TB)

March 5

Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina (via trade with BUF)

March 8

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

March 11

Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina (via trade with BUF)

March 12

Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

March 16

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State (via trade with JAC)

My first Bears mock: Ashton Jeanty.

My last Bears mock: Ashton Jeanty

My in-between Bears mocks: Other dudes.

And I was perfectly happy to pivot to the other dudes after free agency, trades, and a new coaching staff changed everything.

Because, flexibility.

Tons of Chicago Bears Mock Drafters Zig After Zagging

I’m far from the only draft nerd whose Chicago Bears mocks change on a weekly, if not daily basis.

• Windy City Gridiron’s Jacob Infante, for instance, kicked off his mock season with a flock of Will Campbell (OT, LSU) picks, but when the Bears traded for OGs Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, then inked free agent center Drew Dalman, he all but had to pivot, sneaking in a scenario in which the Bears land Michigan D-lineman Kenneth Grant.

• Bears Wire's Alyssa Barbieri has dropped only two mocks: On January 9, she had the Bears snatching up Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., then, 20 days later, rolled with Jeanty, likely also a reaction to the O-line overhaul.

• Finally, the Pro Football Focus team has been all over the map, predicting everybody from Josh Simmons (OT, Ohio State), to Nic Scourton (EDGE, Texas A&M), to James Pearce Jr. (EDGE, Tennessee), to Mykel Williams (EDGE, Georgia) to land in Chi-town.

Millions of different mockers, millions of different drafts.

So Where Does This Leave Chicago?

For what it’s worth, the NFL Mock Draft Data Base tells us that 13% of the mock drafts they’ve aggregated have Bears GM Ryan Poles going offensive line and grabbing the aforementioned Mr. Campbell.

But it’s likely that 95% of that 13% will change their minds between now and Draft Night.

Because, flexibility.