Latest Mel Kiper mock draft has the Bears selecting a first-round offensive lineman that won't offer much help to Caleb Williams in 2025
Everyone seems to be on the idea that the Chicago Bears need to target one of the top offensive line prospects with the 10th overall pick, and for good reason.The Bears just watched as quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times and meanwhile, three of the five starters up-front will be pending free […]
Everyone seems to be on the idea that the Chicago Bears need to target one of the top offensive line prospects with the 10th overall pick, and for good reason.
The Bears just watched as quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times and meanwhile, three of the five starters up-front will be pending free agents.
The entire position group needs to be overhauled this offseason, both through free agency and the draft, and it needs to be addressed properly, with no half measures. That means spending high dollar to land top free agents and using the team's high picks on top prospects.
Who the Bears look to draft in the first-round, if any, continues to be the question. Right now, LSU's Will Campbell continues to be the most consistent target for the Bears in terms of mock drafts, followed closely by Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr.
Both players are expected to be among the first drafted at the position, and while they played left tackle in college, both also project to be guards in the NFL. Which bodes well for the Bears considering the team already has two starting tackles in place.
However, in ESPN's Mel Kiper's latest mock draft, the draft expert had the Bears passing on Banks and other top interior protectors such as Armand Membou and Tyler Booker to land a true tackle prospect in Ohio State's Josh Simmons. Here's his reasoning for the decision.
"Darnell Wright has the right tackle position locked down, but Chicago could replace Braxton Jones (recovering from an ankle injury) on the left side with Simmons. Of course, Simmons is coming back from his own injury (knee), but he should be good to go for camp and has great traits. I love his consistency and balance in pass protection." – ESPN's Mel Kiper
Don't get me wrong, I believe as a true tackle, Simmons is one of the best in this class. And if Campbell and Banks move to left guard, Simmons would be the best left tackle of the bunch. But, given the current roster in Chicago, this would be a bad move.
Braxton Jones is already going to be rehabbing from a fractured fibula suffered in late December, forcing him to miss the final two games of the season. Jones will hopefully be back by the start of training camp if all goes well in the rehab process.
Jones will be going into the final year of his rookie contract in 2025 and could be replaced, although that seems to be more of a next offseason task.
Drafting Jones' replacement now with the 10th overall pick, in someone who will be going through his own rehab process after suffering a torn patellar tendon in mid October, doesn't make much sense for 2025. That's a significant injury and one that will have Simmons sidelined well into the summer as well.
Therefore, if the Bears draft Simmons, you'll have two players sidelined into training camp having to pick up a new offense while coming off major season-ending injuries looking to compete for the starting job to protect Williams' blindside in 2025.
That doesn't sound like the best course of action in my eyes. However, general manager Ryan Poles hasn't shied away from drafting offensive lineman coming off major injuries, in last year's draft he selected offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie in the third-round despite coming off a torn quad.
Crazier things have happened, but using the 10th overall pick to draft someone who wouldn't be a surefire starter when you have other glaring holes in the interior would be a bad idea to help protect your franchise quarterback in 2025.
For context, in Kiper's previous mock draft, he had the Bears rolling with Campbell in the first-round, the reason he changed is because Campbell went off the board fourth overall to the New England Patriots. Banks went off the board at 25 for what it's worth.
