Chicago Bears football guard Jonah Jackson, left, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, center, and football guard Joe Thuney
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

First & Long: ‘Best Player Available’ Means Exactly That, ‘Great Wall’ Intrigued by Williams, Jarrett Shades Love

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMarch 13, 2025

Four days of free agency have passed and the Chicago Bears are a better team on paper than the one that finished the 2024 season with five wins. GM Ryan Poles rebuilt his entire interior offensive line, upgraded the defensive line, and earlier today added a speedy wide receiver. Expect Chicago’s front office to focus on adding fringe free agents while gearing up for next month’s draft.

Another successful free agent season also means the Bears are positioned nicely to take the best player available. Even better, the teams ahead of Chicago will probably draft based on positional need.

“This really opens the whole board for us,” Poles said. “We’re going to be able to sit back and kind of look and say, ‘What’s the best thing to do for the Chicago Bears? And who’s the best player that can impact [us]?’ We’ve got some tough decisions and a lot of film to watch between now and the draft.”

It’s unfair to say Poles drafted based on need in each of the last three seasons because the Bears needed help everywhere. That’s not the case this year. Chicago’s biggest need is depth, depending on how you feel about Braxton Jones or Tremaine Edmunds. You can never have enough linemen, but draft analyst Matt Miller believes Poles will add to a different position group with the No. 10 pick.

“I would say offensive line is off the table at 10, just because there’s no indication they aren’t Braxton Jones fans,” Miller said. I’ve talked to Poles about this, not super recently, but we’ve had conversations; they drafted Darnell Wright in the top 10, so I would probably take offensive line off of your radar at 10.”

Miller mentioned running back Ashton Jeanty and tight ends Tyler Warren of Penn State and Colston Loveland of Michigan. The Bears already have Cole Kmet, and they recently signed Durham Smythe as a backup. Still, Warren would be tough to pass up at No. 10. His ceiling is higher than Kmet’s, and he could break out immediately the way Brock Bowers did last season, especially in Ben Johnson’s offense. Remember, the Bears are picking the best player available. Kmet is a fan favorite and a good player, but that’s no reason not to select Warren.

Selecting Warren would be no different than selecting Jeanty. Like Kmet, Swift is a good player, but Jeanty is a difference-maker. The Bears don’t have to overthink this. If Jeanty and Warren are gone, Poles could trade back unless somebody else falls into his lap. Here are my top-graded prospects in this year’s draft:

  1. EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State)
  2. Warren (Penn State)
  3. Jeanty (Boise State)
  4. CB Travis Hunter (Colorado)
  5. DT Mason Graham (Michigan)
  6. OT Will Campbell (LSU)
  7. EDGE Mykel Williams (Georgia)
  8. EDGE Jalon Walker (Georgia)
  9. OT Josh Simmons (Ohio State)
  10. TE Colston Loveland (Michigan)

Of course, Poles’ board is probably nothing like mine or the media analysts’. He’ll also have input from Johnson, who’s probably salivating at the prospect of choosing Jeanty or Warren, if they’re available.

Bears News & Notes

There’s a Flag…On the Play

Ouch. The Bears media team left out Jones and Wright, but I love the nickname.

Draft Tidings

  • One analyst believes the Broncos will trade up to No. 7 overall to select Jeanty if he is still available.
  • Miami’s Cam Ward is considered the top quarterback in a weak class, but his versatility makes him better than advertised.
  • One NFL insider believes the Rams will draft a quarterback to eventually succeed Matthew Stafford. Los Angeles has the 26th pick in the first round.
  • The NFL awarded 35 compensatory picks to 15 different teams. Three special selections, one each to the 49ers, Rams, and Lions, were also included. These special compensatory picks are awarded to teams that have hired a minority employee to a head coach or primary football executive position by another team.
  • Some experts believe the Giants will trade up from No. 3 to get the top pick in this year’s draft, which currently belongs to the Titans.
  • The Bears-Panthers trade from 2023 will be finalized when Chicago makes its first second-round selection, unless Poles trades it for a future pick. To recap the trade, the Bears sent Carolina the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft in exchange for D.J. Moore and selections in the first (No. 9) and second rounds (No. 61) in 2023, a 2024 first-round choice that turned out to be Williams, and a 2025 second-round selection. The Panthers select Bryce Young with Chicago’s pick.

Film Room

Jarrett called Packers QB Jordan Love a “little bitch” during a game last season. He’ll never pay for dinner in Chicago again.

Northern Exposure

Two-Minute Drill

The Bears said goodbye to fan favorite Jack Sanborn this week, and he signed with the Cowboys. Matt Eberflus is the defensive coordinator in Dallas, which means Sanborn has a very good chance of starting.

The Bears have 27 players with expiring contracts, most notably wide receiver Keenan Allen, offensive linemen Teven Jenkins, Matt Pryor and Coleman Shelton, long snapper Patrick Scales and running back/special teams ace Travis Homer. Their restricted free agents include defensive tackle Chris Williams and offensive lineman Doug Kramer. Shelton signed a two-year deal to play with the Rams, but the others are still available.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

  1. Najee Harris has never rushed for more than 37 yards on a single play.
  2. Myles Garrett and Lawrence Taylor are the only NFL players with 12 or more sacks in five straight seasons.
  3. Charvarius Ward has missed just 5.6% of his tackle attempts since entering the league in 2018, the lowest missed tackle rate in the NFL (min. 300 tackle attempts).

From the Podium

  • “[Football] shouldn’t be easy. This should be hard. Anything worth doing is hard. It’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of effort … we should not be comfortable.” – Johnson
  • “The things that are most important to me with football [are] about the culture that I’m playing in and the people I’m playing next to, the vision for the team as a whole. All those things were top of mind for me as far as finding the next home. On top of that, the Bears are a historic team, and this is an awesome town.” – Dalman
  • “This city wants a Lombardi [Trophy] and I feel like that’s the goal for everybody in the building.” – Odeyingbo
  • “Being able to walk into a building associated with Walter Payton…the pride I have in this place, I didn’t know it lived in me until I walked in the building. I’m so fired up.” – Jarrett
Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMarch 13, 2025
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