The season is over. The only thing left for the Chicago Bears is to march into Lambeau Field next Sunday and accept another beating from the Green Bay Packers as they prepare for yet another playoff run. From there, the real action begins. Team brass will begin their search for a new head coach and maybe a new GM, depending on what fate awaits Ryan Poles. Once that is done, they must prepare for an incredibly important off-season that could make or break the development of quarterback Caleb Williams.
That means heavy investments in the offensive line, which has allowed 67 sacks this season. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reached out to a top front office executive to get a feel for what the 2025 draft class could look like. His response feels like a major positive from the Bears’ perspective.
“It’s shaping up to be a better offensive-line class than we originally expected, but it’s still not what it was last year,” the front-office man said. “There’s not any real slam-dunk, top-half-of-the-first-round players. A lot of the top guys in this class on the line are Day 2-graded players…
…The Bears will have two picks early in Round 2, with one coming from the Carolina Panthers, and the evaluator said that might be a sweet spot to target a lineman or even two.
“They would be in a good spot there,” the front-office man said. “Where it’s the thinnest is at center. Not a good draft class for that position.”
They have more than enough resources to address the problem. As of now, it is evident the offensive line needs at least three new starters, all of them along the interior. Teven Jenkins and Coleman Shelton are both free agents. Nate Davis was already cut a few weeks ago. An argument can be made that Braxton Jones shouldn’t remain left tackle, but this class isn’t strong at tackle. The logical course, at least at this stage, is keeping him in place while focusing the money and draft capital on finding two new guards and a center.
The latter doesn’t seem like an option in the draft, so free agency could be where the Chicago Bears decide to pounce. Drew Dalman, Ryan Kelly, and Josh Myers are all possibilities to consider. They could then shift to the draft for their guard help. Plenty of options will be available between the 1st and 2nd rounds. The tougher question is whether the Bears can find them, given their poor hit rate in recent years.
