Dane Brugler's latest 2025 mock draft has Bears investing heavily in the trenches

Bears GM Ryan Poles has received harsh but fair criticisms on how he's handled his offensive and defensive lines so far. In this latest mock draft from The Athletic, Dane Brugler offers a blueprint to fix both sides of the ball.
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To be fair to Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles, the narrative that he's done 'nothing' to address the trenches is false. He's added some really good players and used premium assets to get them, like Darnell Wright (10th overall pick in 2023) and Montez Sweat (a 2024 second-round pick sent to Washington, plus an expensive contract).

But through three seasons, these investments are clearly insufficient. The offensive line, particularly in the middle, is still a turnstile and the defensive line is middling at best.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler published a new 2025 mock draft on Wednesday that has Poles putting an end to this narrative once and for all, going with offensive and defensive line prospects with each of his first three picks.

Brugler targets the right positions, but one of his picks is questionable.

With the 10th overall pick in the first round, Brugler has the Bears selecting Josh Simmons, the stud left tackle from Ohio State. There's merit to this, as Simmons started the 2024 CFB season looking like the best left tackle in the country. Unfortunately, Simmons suffered a knee injury in October that ended his season early.

Simmons' talent is obvious, but spending such a high selection on a lineman with a major leg injury already doesn't seem like the best use of resources, especially with Will Campbell and Kelvin Banks Jr. still on the board.

Wyatt Milum
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After that, Brugler has the Bears selecting West Virginia offensive tackle Wyatt Milum and Arkansas edge Landon Jackson in Round 2. These are excellent picks for the Bears, as both players have tremendous upside.

Milum has spent three years as West Virginia's starting left tackle and, through 1,155 passing snaps, has given up just one QB hit and zero sacks. He will likely end up as a guard in the NFL, but that's exactly where Chicago needs the most help.

Landon jackson
Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

As for Jackson, he's a highly graded pass rusher who totaled seven sacks in each of his last two seasons. He's shown growth and development every year. Jackson might not be a Day 1 impact player, but he could quickly grow into Chicago's second-best pass rusher.

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.