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Early 2025 NFL mock drafts have Chicago Bears focusing on 2 prospects in 1st round

It's early in the 2025 NFL mock draft season, but so far, two prospects have become popular picks for the Chicago Bears.

Bryan Perez

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The 2025 NFL draft is more than three months away. And before it arrives, the Chicago Bears will sign a long list of veteran free agents who will shake up their current roster needs. But some roster holes can't just be filled in free agency; GM Ryan Poles must commit an early-round pick or two to the cause.

That cause? Upgrading the offensive line. The Bears cannot subject Caleb Williams to 68 sacks, the league-leading and team-record total from the 2024 season, ever again. But the current state of affairs along the offensive line suggests there's much work to do to prevent that kind of doomsday outcome.

Left tackle Braxton Jones played at a replaceable level this year, and his season ended with a leg injury that will take some time to recover from. Left guard Teven Jenkins will be an unrestricted free agent, and odds are he won't return. Center Coleman Shelton should never wear a Bears uniform again, while right guard is like a block of land with nothing on it. It's 'for sale.'

So, yeah, even if Poles spends big money on two new starters for the offensive line in free agency, the Chicago Bears will still have two more spots to fill.

Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. (78) against the Clemson Tigers
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears will invest in the offensive line in the 2025 NFL Draft

As a result, it should come as no surprise that the early cycle of 2025 NFL mock drafts has narrowed the Bears' choice at No. 10 overall to two players: LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell Jr. and Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.

According to NFL Mock Draft Database, Campbell is the most popular prospect mocked to Chicago, with 29.4% of published mock drafts having him as the Bears' pick. Banks is second at 21.9%.

NFL Draft analysts and Bears fans have the right idea. Chicago has to use the 10th overall pick on a blue-chip talent, even if neither Campbell nor Banks is a surefire offensive tackle in the pros. Both prospects have scouting reports that are split between playing on the edge or moving inside to guard.

But as noted above, it doesn't matter for the Bears. They could have as many as two or three starting jobs up for grabs on draft weekend. All Poles has to do is select an offensive lineman in the first round with the kind of diverse skill set needed to play any of them.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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