6 players Ryan Poles and the rest of the Chicago Bears' front office should keep their eyes on at the 2025 Senior Bowl
We are in the heart of draft season, even though the 2025 NFL Draft isn't happening until the end of April. But, for 30 teams not competing in Super Bowl LIX, all eyes are onto how teams can improve their rosters heading into 2025.For the Chicago Bears, a notable event is coming up this week […]
We are in the heart of draft season, even though the 2025 NFL Draft isn't happening until the end of April. But, for 30 teams not competing in Super Bowl LIX, all eyes are onto how teams can improve their rosters heading into 2025.
For the Chicago Bears, a notable event is coming up this week that has recently produced a lot of young talent for the Bears since general manager Ryan Poles took over in 2022, and that event is the Senior Bowl.
Poles has drafted multiple starters and role players who were Senior Bowl alumni including left tackle Braxton Jones, right tackle Darnell Wright, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, quarterback Tyson Bagent, punter Tory Taylor, defensive ends Austin Booker and Dominique Robinson, and offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie.
So, clearly this has always been a big scouting week for Poles and the rest of the front office. Here are six 2025 participants the team should keep their eyes on this week.
Walter Nolen – Ole Miss DT
One of the Bears' biggest needs on the defensive side of the ball is on the defensive line with upgrades needed on the edge and on the interior. Inside, pairing Gervon Dexter with another impact pass rusher would be killer for Dennis Allen's unit.
Walter Nolen could be one of the guys in consideration to fill that role if he slips into the second round. Right now, our A to Z mock draft database has Nolen's average draft position at 38, but he's gone as low as 60 in some mocks. The Bears have two picks in the second round: 39th overall and 41st overall.
During the 2024 season, Nolen had six sacks and 35 total pressures. Among interior defensive linemen in the FBS, Nolen's 35 total pressures ranked 8th in the nation.
Marcus Mbow – Purdue IOL
On the offensive side of the ball, there's no bigger need on the Bears' roster than addressing the offensive line, which is an area head coach Ben Johnson specifically identified on his first day with the team.
The Senior Bowl roster won't have any of the top names up-front the Bears will consider with their first-round pick such as Will Campbell and Kelvin Banks, but there's some really good second-round guys performing this week.
I would keep my eyes on Marcus Mbow. Mbow started all 12 games at right tackle in 2024 but he has the ability to play tackle, guard, or center at the next level. Look at him as a younger, more athletic version of Matt Pryor, who started 15 games for the Bears at right guard and helped out at right tackle.
Mike Green – Marshall EDGE
As for top edge rushers who could find their way into the second round, Marshall's Mike Green won't be hard to spot this week down in Mobile. Green easily could land inside the Top-32 selections but our database has his average draft spot at 54.
Green has already turned a lot of heads down there after weighing in at an impressive 251 pounds this week. After checking off the size box, everything else looks near flawless for the productive pass rusher.
In his final season at Marshall, Green totaled SEVENTEEN sacks, which easily ranked first among all FBS defenders in 2024. The production-level speaks for itself and adding a guy like this to play opposite Montez Sweat on Day 2 would be incredible.
Jared Wilson – Georgia C
Another offensive lineman I'm interested to see shine this week is Jared Wilson. I've been beating the drum for the Bears to consider drafting Georgia offensive linemen over the last two years after the program continues to produce starter after starter at the NFL level.
Wilson took over starting duties for the Bulldogs in 2024 after Sedrick Van Pran-Granger was drafted by the Bills in the fifth-round. In his lone season as the starter, Wilson allowed zero sacks on 511 pass blocking snaps. This guy is legit.
And center will be one of the key positions the Bears have to get right this offseason. The team tried to address the position last offseason by signing Coleman Shelton and trading for Ryan Bates to compete with him. Neither proved to be long-term options.
Jaylin Noel – Iowa State WR
A lot of people are going to be glued to another Iowa State wide receiver in Jayden Higgins this week, but I think Jaylin Noel will be a better fit for what the Bears need at the wide receiver position to complement DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
Ben Johnson will likely be wanting to get younger and faster at the position, which could lead to the team not bringing back slot specialist Keenan Allen. And Noel could be the ideal mold to fill that role in the passing game.
The 5'11, 200 receiver made his living out of the slot, where he lined up 436 times during the 2024 season. His speed will also be a highly coveted trait later in the draft.
Gunnar Helm – Texas TE
I don't think the Bears will use any high capital in the draft or free agency to address this position, but I would love to see the team add another tight end behind Cole Kmet and move on from veterans Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis.
Neither player was much of a factor for the team last season and again, Johnson will want to get younger, not older, in building this offense.
Kmet will be a major factor in the Bears' passing attack but adding a run-blocking tight end to the mix will be key as well. Our own Destin Adams noted that Gunnar Helm had one of the best run-blocking tapes in the class and really improved his route-running in 2024 while hauling in 786 yards and seven touchdowns for the Longhorns.
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