Explosive WR turned RB reveals the Chicago Bears were one of his 'Top-2' pre-draft visits but a division rival received a similar review
Leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears have done extensive work on the RB class, which is set to be one of the best crops in recent memory.The Bears continue to be closely linked to Boise State standout Ashton Jeanty and are "praying" he falls to their first-round selection. In the meantime, […]
Leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears have done extensive work on the RB class, which is set to be one of the best crops in recent memory.
The Bears continue to be closely linked to Boise State standout Ashton Jeanty and are "praying" he falls to their first-round selection. In the meantime, Chicago has also hosted visits with prospects such as UNC's Omarion Hampton and Iowa's Kaleb Johnson. Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson is another favorite match-making option.
Outside of the top guys, the Bears also expressed interest in another late-round explosive running back from SMU in Brashard Smith, who came away impressed following his pre-draft meeting with the team.
"I had a great visit at Chicago," Smith revealed on the Up & Adams Show. "I love the culture, the people also, and I've seen the teammates around. I was actually getting to talk to them and I feel like it's a very cool spot to be at, for sure."
Seeing the Bears initially show interest in Smith was surprising from a play-style standpoint. By looking into guys like Jeanty, Hampton, and Johnson, the Bears clearly wanted someone who can handle a strong workload and punish defenses with their size and strength while relying on D'Andre Swift to hit the explosive home runs.
In Smith, he's a guy who fits similar to Swift's game than the other three backs the team has met with. Smith is a former WR who converted to RB once transferring to SMU from Miami. The transition was a success with Smith totaling over 2,000 scrimmage yards and 18 total touchdowns as a dual-threat weapon.
Overall, he's an explosive threat with the ball in his hands and working with a play-caller like Ben Johnson can highlight his ability to tear defenses apart. And the Bears aren't the only team in the NFC North hoping to add Smith to the rotation.
The Minnesota Vikings also hosted a visit with the SMU weapon, and Smith considered that visit to be the other Top-2 visit he's had along with the Bears.
"I could see how [Minnesota] was trying to change the program around and I feel like it's definitely going to change," Smith said. "I feel like the culture that they have is big time and that building is something special."
Smith also had a reported Top-30 visit with the Houston Texans. If the Bears hope to land a player of Smith's talents, he's currently the 178th ranked prospect via the A to Z Sports Mock Draft Database.
ESPN Insiders believe the Bears are ‘praying’ for the ideal scenario in the first-round but two teams could try and prevent it from happening
Things are starting to get interesting.
