Bears give more confidence to D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson but two recent draft picks are feeling the heat following the 2025 NFL Draft
The Chicago Bears 2025 Draft Class was constructed to do one thing: add some competition to the returning roster. "Listen, we talked about it the moment the players got back in the building, call it three weeks ago now, it was going to be a competitive environment. There is no depth chart right now. If […]
The Chicago Bears 2025 Draft Class was constructed to do one thing: add some competition to the returning roster.
"Listen, we talked about it the moment the players got back in the building, call it three weeks ago now, it was going to be a competitive environment. There is no depth chart right now. If you want to play, you got to earn it," head coach Ben Johnson said. "You want a role, you got to go earn it. They know that. We were very straight forward and honest with they came into the building. I think all we did this weekend was we might have just turned up the notch a couple of dials for certain people in the building, so that's a good thing. That's a healthy, that's where you bring out the best."
After hearing that, let's take a look at the roster and see which returning players should feel confident in their spots on the team after the draft and which ones should be feeling the heat start to rise.
Bears Winners & Losers Following The 2025 Draft
Winner: Caleb Williams
Based on free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, I'm willing to say that no individual player had a better offseason in the NFL than Bears quarterback Caleb Williams heading into his second season in the league.
The first half of the offseason was all about building the offensive front to protect Williams, bringing in three new starters in Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman. But, the biggest move for Williams was hiring head coach Ben Johnson.
As for the draft itself, Johnson was aggressive in giving Williams everything he needed to succeed by drafting four different offensive prospects. Those picks included two new play-makers in tight end Colston Loveland, a vertical security blanket, and wide receiver Luther Burden III, an explosive player when the ball is in his hands. The other two picks were made on the offensive line to give the team more high-quality depth.
Williams now has everything he needs to explode in his sophomore season with a revamped offensive front, an innovative play-caller, and an arsenal of high-level impact weapons all over the field.
Winner: D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson
The Bears opted to wait until the seventh-round of the draft until selecting a running back in a loaded class. Kyle Monangai was the 22nd player selected at his position, and while he's a strong fit in Chicago, not prioritizing the position earlier in the draft is a boost of confidence for D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson.
Swift was already expected to have a sizable role in 2024, albeit with a stronger form of accountability and expectations. Johnson, however, was the player in question given the team was aiming to target a back who could complement Swift's style.
Johnson still has the ability to be the bruiser back of this offense and will compete for opportunities with Monangai joining the room. Being able to compete against a seventh-round rookie instead of someone like Ashton Jeanty gives Johnson more of a fighting chance to earn a role in 2025. Unless any future addition is made.
Loser: Zacch Pickens
Things already looked grim for the former third-round selection entering into his third season with the team. When the Bears drafted two defensive tackles early in the 2023 NFL Draft, the team was banking on one of the two being a hit.
Gervon Dexter Sr. proved to be that guy after making a leap in 2024 but Zacch Pickens' trajectory shot the other direction. Pickens ended his sophomore season as a healthy inactive after getting buried on the depth chart and not working his way up.
During the second-round of the draft, the Bears invested another top pick on the interior drafting Shemar Turner, who is an ideal fit in Dennis Allen's plan to have an aggressive defense. That means there's at least four players listed above Pickens on the depth chart, meaning he'll be fighting to even make the roster this summer.
Winner: Austin Booker
While we're discussing the defensive front, let's talk about the edge rusher position, where no additions were made during the draft this weekend.
That in itself is great news for sophomore pass rusher Austin Booker, who played all 17 games as a rookie. Booker never got major opportunities playing in a rotation but going into the 2025 season, he's looking like the team's third-best edge rusher behind Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo.
Head coach Ben Johnson noted that the coaching staff would like to see Booker add some more weight to hold the point of attack this summer. We'll see what kind of transformation he puts on, but the staff already showed the belief in him this weekend.
Loser: Amen Ogbongbemiga and Noah Sewell
One of the things Dennis Allen clearly wanted to add to his defense was speed in the second and third level. Drafting linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II well above consensus in the fourth-round proves that to be true.
Hyppolite's blazing 40-yard-dash at the Maryland Pro Day put him on multiple teams' radar and after meeting with the Bears the staff was impressed by his football IQ.
Adding a linebacker at some point was an expected move behind Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards to bring some competition to the LB3 spot. Hearing all the praises for Hyppolite's potential lights a fire under Amen Ogbongbemiga and Noah Sewell to show out on special teams and on defense this summer.
Chicago Bears way too early 53-man roster projection and potential roster cuts immediately following the 2025 NFL Draft
First crack at deciding the 2025 squad.
