Bears' interest in highly athletic defender could change the team's expected process in the first-round of the 2025 NFL Draft
The NFL Scouting Combine is always an exciting week, and it's always filled with a few important nuggets but it's mostly smoke and mirrors.What that means is, general managers love using this week to purposely lead the media and opposing teams off their tail in terms of guys they're looking to draft.However, the formal meetings […]
The NFL Scouting Combine is always an exciting week, and it's always filled with a few important nuggets but it's mostly smoke and mirrors.
What that means is, general managers love using this week to purposely lead the media and opposing teams off their tail in terms of guys they're looking to draft.
However, the formal meetings with top prospects are still notable and do play a role at times in determining who a team might select.
On Wednesday, we learned that the Chicago Bears have some interest in a highly athletic defender, expected to be a potential top prospect in the draft, from a highly toted college program.
Bears Met With Georgia DE Mykel Williams at NFL Combine
According to Bears' beat writer Zach Pearson, the Bears officially met with Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams this week at the combine and the team's interest in the pass rusher raises questions about the team's first-round process.
Throughout the last couple weeks, nearly every mock draft had the Bears selecting an offensive lineman with the 10th overall pick, which helps address the team's biggest need.
On Tuesday, general manager Ryan Poles hinted that filling said need in the first-round might not have to be as crucial as many expect. Yes, the Bears desperately need offensive line help, but Poles made it clear this week that the team will be aggressive in free agency to land some top protectors up-front.
And since free agency comes first, that allows the Bears to be flexible with their top selection if they can first land some quality offensive lineman on the market.
Which leads us to Mykel Williams. After releasing veteran DeMarcus Walker, finding another pass rusher off the edge opposite Montez Sweat became even important. So important, that perhaps the team could consider adding someone like Williams in the first-round of April's draft.
This week's meeting in Indianapolis isn't the first time we've seen interest coming his way from the Bears' front office. Back in August, Poles and assistant general manager Ian Cunningham visited the Georgia vs Clemson matchup and were gushing over Williams. How do we know that, well because HBO's Hard Knocks caught it on tape.
Clearly, the Bears have had their eyes on this guy for quite some time, and well before the combine.
Williams has the necessary traits as a pass rusher to warrant a Top-10 selection in this year's class and can play all over the defensive front. He's an elite athlete who can easily fill the void left following Walker's release.
Due to an ankle injury suffered in the Sugar Bowl, Williams won't be performing in drills later this week, but he expects to be healthy and work out at Georgia's Pro Day prior to the draft. We'll see if the Bears show even more interest in that event.
Bears Ryan Poles made it clear he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to fix the team’s biggest need going into free agency
Seems like they plan to be big spenders.
