Bears first-round decision in the 2025 Draft gives even more confidence to Braxton Jones but he shouldn't be done looking over his shoulder just yet
The Chicago Bears made an unexpected selection with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft opting to go the tight end route with Michigan's Colston Loveland.Based on how the first nine selections played with with Ashton Jeanty, Mason Graham, Will Campbell, and Kelvin Banks all off the board, going tight end was the […]
The Chicago Bears made an unexpected selection with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft opting to go the tight end route with Michigan's Colston Loveland.
Based on how the first nine selections played with with Ashton Jeanty, Mason Graham, Will Campbell, and Kelvin Banks all off the board, going tight end was the right decision to make and the Bears clearly had a preferred guy at the position.
Regardless, the biggest winner of the selection wasn't Loveland or head coach Ben Johnson. It's actually left tackle Braxton Jones.
Even though Campbell, Banks, and Armand Membou were off the board by the 10th overall pick, the Bears were still connected to some of the top offensive tackles in the first-round. By going with Loveland, Chicago passed on the second wave of blindside protectors with Donovan Jackson, Josh Conerly Jr., and Josh Simmons all coming off the board in the late first-round.
This further shows the continued confidence this new coaching staff has in Jones being the team's starting left tackle in 2025, despite coming off a serious injury.
“Braxton has been in that role for the last couple years and the injury was significant. If he were healthy today, he would be our left tackle and we would have confidence in him doing the job," offensive line coach Dan Roushar said a few days before the draft. "That’s going to be a little bit of a process for his recovery but if nothing changed, I would see Braxton being our left tackle at the moment."
Roushar's words proved to be true heading into the second day of the draft and he's not the only member of the coaching staff who feels so highly about Jones' ability to still be the team's starter at the position.
"Yes, absolutely," head coach Ben Johnson said. "Listen, the No. 1 thing, in my opinion, that tackles need to do is pass protect. I think he has the feet to get that done. We’re going to challenge him to maybe gain a little more weight so that he can anchor a little bit better in pass pro. But everything I’ve seen so far has shown a phenomenal athlete out there on the edge that we feel like we can work with."
As for the depth behind Jones, the Bears expressed similar confidence in 2024 third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie, despite a rough rookie campaign during which he was forced onto the field much earlier than expected.
"I liked Kiran a lot coming out last year," Johnson explained. "He was a guy we had earmarked as a potential developmental prospect. He had a lot of traits to work with… We're not discouraged at all by what he put on tape. He got put into some tough situations."
"I don't think it's fair to evaluate on anything that [Amegadjie] did last year," Roushar added. "I'm excited about where he can go… He's got lower power traits. You see the length. You see the athleticism."
The backing these two players have received speaks louder now more than ever heading into the 2025 season, but Braxton Jones shouldn't be done looking over his shoulder.
Day 2 Fits At Left Tackle Still Available
Even though the Bears passed on a top offensive tackle with the 10th overall pick doesn't mean they'll do the same with the 39th, 41st or 72nd overall picks later today.
There's still some high-quality tackles remaining on the board such as Aireontae Ersery, Ozzy Trapilo, and even a guy like Jonah Savaiinaea makes sense. Savaiinaea might not project as a left tackle, but he's strong on the right side and general manager Ryan Poles left the door open to moving Darnell Wright to the left side if needed.
"Yeah, I think that is a conversation we’ll see how everything goes," Poles said on Tuesday. "[Wright] clearly has the ability to play left and right. We saw that in college. That was part of the value in taking Darnell, so if he had to play left, he can play left, and obviously I think we are all excited about his stuff."
However, for the time being, Jones has to feel confident about the left tackle position remaining his to lose heading into the final year of his rookie contract.
