Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles noted that the team plans to have some competition at the left tackle position.

On Day 2 of the draft, the team selected Boston College offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo with the 56th overall pick, a mammoth of a player who has experience at both tackle positions, each of which appealed to the team.

After the draft, Poles noted that the early plan is to have Trapilo working on the left side, despite playing the final two seasons of his college career at right tackle, while returning starter Braxton Jones recovers from a severe ankle injury suffered in 2024.

It'll be an adjustment for Trapilo, but he's not worried about where he lines up. He just wants to put his best work out on the field regardless, starting at rookie minicamp this weekend.

"My main goal is to go out there and who I am as a player, just put it out there," Trapilo told reporters on Friday. "Let the coaches make decisions as to where, when, how I fit with whatever it is. That's their job. My job is to demonstrate who I am as a player."

Even though he hasn't started a live game at left tackle since the 2022 season, Trapilo noted he's consistently practiced the position in case this exact scenario presented itself upon entering the NFL.

"Throughout college I knew that I wanted to play in the NFL, doing so you have to be versatile," Trapilo explained. "That's the quickest way to get on the field. After practice, even though I was a right tackle the last few years in college, working left and making sure that it's still smooth. Especially after the season, I was working more left than right, just because I was catching up for lost time."

That extra work on the left side is now paying off for Trapilo, who mainly worked with his left hand down during the first day of minicamp.

"It's still too early to make any assessments on that, but he's exactly what we thought he was going to be," head coach Ben Johnson said about Trapilo after practice. "He's super smart, he's able to apply those things and concepts right to the field immediately. He's very advanced in that regard. Technique, fundamentals, he takes those seriously. It's really impressive for a young guy."

Seeing this kind of reaction on day one is exactly why the Bears drafted this guy in the second-round and have confidence in his ability to compete for the starting job protecting quarterback Caleb Williams' blindside. Even if he doesn't start right away, he's a valuable player to have in the building.

"It definitely wouldn't be the end of the world," Trapilo said if he doesn't start. "My goal here it to play football, to get on the field as soon as I can, so I'm going to do whatever I can to get that done. But at the same time I know I have a lot to work on as a player. I'm a rookie. I'm not going to show up and be the best. My goal is to become the best player I can. I'm not just going to do it without work. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. So my job is not to be results-driven. It's to be process-driven."

That's the right mindset you want to see out of a young player who will have a lot of promise for the future of this offense.