3 bold predictions on what the Chicago Bears could do in the 2025 NFL Draft including a trade up for Ashton Jeanty
Welcome to draft week, over the next four days or so, things are going to get really interesting with the 2025 NFL Draft set to kick off on Thursday Night.And with looming deadlines comes action, meaning anything could be done over the next few days in desperation by teams around the league.With that being said, […]
Welcome to draft week, over the next four days or so, things are going to get really interesting with the 2025 NFL Draft set to kick off on Thursday Night.
And with looming deadlines comes action, meaning anything could be done over the next few days in desperation by teams around the league.
With that being said, let's look at three bold moves that could be make this week leading up to the first-round that specifically involve the Chicago Bears, starting with a trade up to secure the team's top prospect.
1. Bears trade up for Ashton Jeanty
It's been one of the worst kept secrets that the Chicago Bears are in love with the idea of landing the top ranked running back out of Boise State, pairing him with quarterback Caleb Williams for years to come in Ben Johnson's offense.
However, the belief among draft experts entering this week is that the Bears are willing to risk Jeanty falling to the 10th overall pick.
"There are multiple personnel people who believe the Bears are praying that Jeanty slips to them at No. 10. They think new Bears coach Ben Johnson could feature Jeanty and D'Andre Swift as a two-headed duo the way the Lions did with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs when Johnson was Detroit's offensive coordinator." – ESPN's Adam Schefter
Staying put worked out in 2024 when general manager Ryan Poles was talked out of moving up for wide receiver Rome Odunze and still being able to draft him 9th overall, but it's an entirely different story with Jeanty.
Jeanty is the top back for a reason and teams aren't going to like a guy like that fall down the board without doing something about it. Teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars (5th overall) and Las Vegas Raiders (6th overall) are the top threats to steal Jeanty while teams like the Dallas Cowboys or Denver Broncos could trade ahead of the Bears to snipe him off the board.
All of which prompts me to trade up if I were Ryan Poles and here's what said trade could look like:
Bears receive: 5th overall pick
Jaguars receive: 10th overall pick and 41st overall pick
It's a steep trade up but one that could be worth it to secure a player like Jeanty for this offense. Chicago will still have the 39th pick in the second round as well as the 72nd overall pick in the third round to land impact players in the trenches on Day 2.
2. Bears RB gamble comes back to bite them
Now, let's look at the flip side of this Ashton Jeanty scenario, because, well, anything can happen on Thursday, right? Schefter noted the Bears are "praying" Jeanty falls to 10, which I could also assume means the team isn't willing to move up.
Staying put is always a gamble, and not often do they pay off as one would hope. So, for bold prediction #2, the Bears stay put at 10 and miss out on Jeanty.
Not only that, the team elects not to select Omarion Hampton or TreVeyon Henderson 10th overall, going instead with someone like Tyler Warren, Mykel Williams, etc. in hopes another RB will make their way to the second-round.
But, now let's say Hampton and Henderson are gone by the time Day 2 starts. And early on Day 2 a team takes a swing on Kaleb Johnson and Quinshon Judkins before picks 39 or 41. Doing so would leave the Bears scrambling without a top back. This would obviously be worst case scenario for Chicago, but if it happens, the team did bring in SMU's Brashard Smith for a pre-draft visit and send RB coach Eric Bieniemy to the Texas Pro Day to cover all their bases.
3. Trade back up for an impact defender
Saying the Bears stay put at 10 and select Jeanty, the team would then be waiting out the opportunity to take one of the top defensive linemen in the second-round.
A few days back, ESPN's Matt Miller floated the idea of the Bears moving back into the first-round, packaging some Day 2 selections in order to secure an impact interior defender such as Kenneth Grant, Walter Nolen, or Derrick Harmon if they start to fall.
"Chicago has two second-round picks, so it could be aggressive and package them to trade back into the end of Round 1 if a desired pass rusher falls. That rusher could be a defensive tackle or an edge rusher, with the team viewing defensive tackle as a more pressing need." – ESPN's Matt Miller
I explored this possibility before and had the Bears package the 39th and 72nd overall picks in order to move up to 29th with the Washington Commanders. The Commanders need picks and the Bears land a beast interior pass rusher in Grant.
To this day, such a move still makes sense for both sides, it just depends on how the board falls and how aggressive Chicago wants to be.
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Final crack at who the Bears will select this weekend.
