Bears Final 2025 NFL Draft Grades: Chicago lands top talent early and fills remaining holes later but not in the way fans might have hoped
The Chicago Bears have finalized their 2025 Draft class adding eight new players to the roster in head coach Ben Johnson's first draft with the team.The Ben Johnson influence was evident in this year's class compared to general manager Ryan Poles' previous draft classes. The Bears prioritized landing the top players on the board and […]
The Chicago Bears have finalized their 2025 Draft class adding eight new players to the roster in head coach Ben Johnson's first draft with the team.
The Ben Johnson influence was evident in this year's class compared to general manager Ryan Poles' previous draft classes. The Bears prioritized landing the top players on the board and not focusing solely on team needs.
It's a process I fully agree given the current state of the organization. Now, let's look at each selection and give our way-too-early grades on the picks.
Round 1, No. 10 Overall: TE Colston Loveland
This wasn't everyone's cup of tea in the first-round but after hearing from general manager Ryan Poles after making the selection you can see what the Bears' organization sees in this guy and why they believed he was a Top-10 talent.
This pick was heavily motivated by head coach Ben Johnson and his desire to have a dominant 2-TE set on offense so it's hard to be negative about the selection based on how the board looked. The one downside to Colston Loveland, the player, is a recent shoulder surgery that will have him out until the summer. Regardless, he's expected to be on the field for training camp and have a big role in this offense starting in 2025.
Grade: A-
Round 2, No. 39 Overall: WR Luther Burden III
Another selection with Ben Johnson's name all over it. The Bears took advantage of the draft board with this selection ending Luther Burden III's slide at pick 39 by simply taking the best player on the board, even if they didn't do much work scouting him.
Burden has first-round ability but after taking a step back in 2024 in terms of production, teams grew concerned. It's up to the Bears to discover why that drop off occurred and help iron out the weakness in his game, such as a limited route tree.
Regardless, his run after the catch ability is easily the best in the entire class and adds a new dimension to Ben Johnson's passing attack. In terms of overall value and on-the-field impact, the Bears couldn't have hoped for a better outcome here.
Grade: A
Round 2, No. 56 Overall: OT Ozzy Trapilo
This has the potential to be a much higher grade if Ozzy Trapilo can win a starting gig at tackle. He has real experience at both left and right tackle and it sounds like the Bears will give him a fair chance to compete.
Even if he doesn't win one of the starting jobs, he's a valuable depth player to have. Head coach Ben Johnson mentioned teams need 8-10 solid offensive linemen to be successful, not just five. And Trapilo gives the Bears a solid option to have on the team.
Grade: B
Round 2, No. 62 Overall: DT Shemar Turner
Don't get me wrong, the position was of dire need on the interior defensive line. Chicago learned that the hard way in 2024 after Andrew Billings went down and even after signing veteran Grady Jarrett, a top pick was expected to be used here.
I just was anticipating a different player than Shemar Turner. Turner is still a highly disruptive player and is the perfect fit under Dennis Allen's plan to build an attacking, aggressive-minded defense in Chicago.
The only worry I have here is whether or not Allen and the Bears can fully control the chaos that is Shemar Turner. Turner had seven personal fouls over his last two seasons but was also a game-wrecker at the same time. I need to see that they can handle his aggressive mindset first before I'm fully on board.
Grade: B-
Round 4, No. 132 Overall: LB Ruben Hyppolite II
This was easily my least favorite selection for Chicago. Ruben Hyppolite II wasn't on many draft boards around the media world and even Dane Brugler listed him as a potential UDFA option, yet the Bears heavily reached in the fourth-round.
Linebacker depth was a need and Dennis Allen likes speed here, which Hyppolite certainly has. He also could be a factor on special teams, but this was too rich for my tastes. Hopefully he proves everyone wrong.
Grade: D-
Round 5, No. 169 Overall: CB Zah Frazier
Addressing the secondary at some point in the draft is always a good move and something I will always be on board with, no matter how the secondary is on paper.
The Bears have a loaded defensive backfield for Dennis Allen to scheme up and adding a guy like Zah Frazier to the room gives the defense a high-upside player to develop on the outside behind Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, and Terell Smith. He has elite size and speed and just needs more experience to see what he can truly be. This is great value for what he could bring to the defense.
Grade: B+
Round 6, No. 195 Overall: OL Luke Newman
As far as late-round offensive linemen go, it's hard to find a better player than Michigan State's Luke Newman. Newman started at left guard in 2024 for the Spartans after being the starting left tackle at Holy Cross from 2021-2022. Newman only allowed one sack over the previous two seasons. At the Shine Bowl, he also showed what he can do at all three interior positions as well.
He might not be an immediate starter for this team, but he offers tremendous depth behind Joe Thuney at left guard and could be the guy the team looks to groom into the starting role down the line. I have no problem making a move like this.
Grade: B
Round 7, No. 233 Overall: RB Kyle Monangai
Everyone knew this draft class was loaded with talent at the running back position but the Bears waited until their final pick of the draft to land one of their own despite being linked to multiple top names in the process.
In the end, the Bears came away with Kyler Monangai, who rushed for over 1,200 in each of the last two seasons with 21 touchdowns in that span. He's not who everyone envisioned for the RB addition, but he's still a really strong fit in Ben Johnson's offense.
Grade: B-
Final Word
This was a very front loaded draft class by the Bears with big swings at the top of the draft. On Day 3, the team relied on identifying high-upside players to develop in the scheme on offense and defense and there's nothing wrong with that.
The Bears addressed all of the biggest needs at the end of the day, even if they didn't pick the trendy names everyone was hoping for.
Final Grade: B
Bears Final 2025 Draft Class shows the clear fingerprints of Ryan Poles, Ben Johnson, and Dennis Allen in adding more difference-makers to the roster
Let’s break down all the new rookies.
