My favorite picks, and the best picks: 7 thoughts on the Chicago Bears after the 2025 NFL Draft

Another draft has come and gone, but the Bears made themselves better. 

Here are seven thoughts on the Chicago Bears' 2025 NFL Draft after adding an eight-man draft class.

If you evaluate Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson’s first draft, there was a clear trend

In the last three NFL Drafts, with a different coaching staff, the Bears drafted for needs as they rebuilt. Darnell Wright, Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze gave the Bears young building blocks for their future.

It’s one thing to have a building block. It’s another thing to have a plan for it. That’s what it felt like this year Johnson and Poles tag-teamed to grab building blocks with purpose.

The Bears’ offense benefits the most from this draft weekend, which is what should have happened. The Bears’ defense has playmakers and starting-caliber players. The offense, as we saw last year, needed an overhaul in the trenches overall. Factor in Johnson, and the offense needed pieces to fit the puzzle he had in mind.

Colston Loveland, Kyle Monangai, Luther Burden III, Ozzy Trapilo and Luke Newman are the newest pieces, and are once that Johnson and Poles see as the right pieces. Before the draft, Bears assistant general manager talked about how the alignment between the coaching staff and front office was standing out in meetings, as both sides were in agreement on players, needs and scouting reports.

"He’s been a pleasure to work with," Poles said. "I'm grateful for that and our relationship as we continue to build that through this journey. It’s been smooth. It feels natural."

Johnson agreed with this, noting how fitting with the system Poles’ front office has in place was seamless for a new coaching staff.

"There's a flow, there's a rhythm to all the madness behind what we do and how we do it, and Ryan really is the brains behind that," Johnson said. "He's set it all up and you can tell that this group, this organization's been together for a number of years now because it's been running so smoothly."

The more I watch Colston Loveland, the more he makes perfect sense

In October 2024, I covered the Michigan-Illinois game in Champaign. The Illini won that game 21-7 because the Wolverines’ offense couldn’t finish.

Michigan got into Illinois territory plenty of times, getting into the red zone three times. UM only scored in the red zone once, which was a short Kalel Mullings rushing touchdown. Michigan stalled out otherwise, throwing an interception and fumbling the ball away twice.

What I took away from that game, amidst the quarterback inconsistency and the offensive struggles, was how the only reason Michigan moved the ball was because of Colston Loveland. He caught seven passes on 10 targets for a team-high 83 yards. 

Loveland made plays on screen passes, pop passes, tight-end leak plays, horizontal throws and vertical passes. If there was a saving grace for Michigan on this afternoon, Loveland was it. 

It’s been covered ad nauseam about how Loveland fits in Johnson’s preference for 12-personnel. What he gives Johnson, Williams and the Bears’ offense is a player the Bears can depend on to get open and move the ball against defenses that make it a struggle or when other outlying circumstances are limiting the offense.

The Bears struggled with that ad nauseam last year. There were so many games where the Bears went three and out or didn’t reach midfield because of sacks, dropped passes or general ineptitude.

With Loveland, Johnson gets a target he can depend on to get open when he needs.

I covered Luther Burden III at Mizzou. This is what you should know:

Imagine Deebo Samuel’s shiftiness and Stefon Diggs’ ability to rack up yards after the catch. Combine those two into a receiver and piss that player off immensely.

That’s what you get in Luther Burden III.

"He's a playmaker waiting to happen," Johnson said in his assessment of Burden. "Went to the same high school, I believe as Jameson Williams. ‘Jamo’ texted me right after we took him and he said, ‘You got a dog just like me.’ Luther has that same confidence."

I covered Burden’s recruitment, his freshman year and sophomore year at Missouri. He was hailed as a player who could change the Tigers’ program as a five-star recruit. He left Columbia having helped Mizzou win 10 games in consecutive years for the first time in over a decade.

Asking an 18-year-old receiver to change the perception of an SEC program is a lot of pressure to put on one player. Burden lived up to it. He scored multiple touchdowns in his first college game. He became an unstoppable force in the slot for Missouri. He never got complacent.

The slot receiver position at Missouri is the featured receiver role. It takes the best football player and puts them in a role where they have the freedom to be creative after the catch. It also helped that he played like it was disrespectful for a defender to even try and tackle him.

One of the things I enjoyed about covering Burden was how he visualized what he wanted. He wanted to be an All-SEC receiver and did that. He told me before the 2023 season he had hopes of being in the Heisman conversation. He was constantly working to achieve different goals, but the one thing that stayed consistent was his work ethic. 

That work ethic – along with the dynamic talent, of course – is why he’s going to fit in perfectly with what Johnson will do this summer and training camp.

"I’ve been working all my life, so there’s no point in just stopping now," Burden said before his freshman year in the summer of 2022. "I know hard work is only going to get me to the next level."

Burden could be the best player from the draft. Zah Frazier could be the most important

If he lives up to his potential – and there’s no reason he won’t – Burden will be the best player from this draft. Taking Zah Frazier into account, he could be the most important player the Bears took from this draft.

Frazier is the prototype cornerback for Dennis Allen’s man-press defense. He’s fast, he’s wiry and he’s got length. Allen wants to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage. The problem is if a corner jabs and misses, he’ll need to recover or there’s potential for a big play.

The Bears see him playing outside corner, where he’ll have to trust his abilities.

"Those guys have to be comfortable playing out on an island," Bears Director of Player Personnel Trey Koziol said. "When you talk about the height and the length in addition to the speed and the ability to take the ball away. Those guys fit the profile of what he's looking for, especially coming in."

Frazier has recovery speed; he ran a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash. At 6-foot-3, he can make up for lost ground with his long frame.

He also doesn’t have to see the field right away. Tyrique Stevenson, Jaylon Johnson and Terell Smith are ahead of him at outside corner. Frazier can focus on learning Allen’s playbook and ace the opportunities when they come up.

Shemar Turner and Grady Jarrett will be best friends

When Grady Jarrett walked into the room after signing with the Bears signed him as a free agent, his personality shined immediately. You could tell this was a player the Bears needed in their defensive locker room: a veteran voice who knows what winning looks and feels like, that both young and experienced players can gravitate towards.

Enter: Shemar Turner.

When he was speaking to the media after he was drafted and at his introduction at Halas Hall, it was clear how big Turner’s personality is. He didn’t shy away from some of the penalties he committed that went viral – like when he uppercut an Ole Miss’ offensive lineman’s, well, nether region – but rather said he’s excited to learn how to toe the line between an extremely high motor and an excessive one.

"Playing with the edge, being an edgy guy, playing with fire like that is always good but you have to know how to control it and you can't let it control you," Turner said. "I feel like keeping it at a certain level, right on the line, I can stay right on the line but just don't cross it. And man, I’ll have a great career. Great career."

Drafting Kyle Monangai means the Bears feel better about their RB room than most

The experts were saying the Bears need to add a dynamic running back to their room. After TrevYeon Henderson went in the third round and Cam Skattebo went in the fourth round, the Bears traded down.

I don’t think that’s a coincidence. It still speaks volumes the Bears didn’t force a pick at running back after that. That could be for a couple of reasons.

First is Monangai fits what running backs coach Eric Bieneimy likes in a back: powerful runner, secure with the football (669 career carries without a single fumble) and knows the value of pass blocking.

"Gotta protect the quarterback if you want the ball," Monangai said.

Monangai is eerily similar to Isiah Pacheco, whom Bieneimy tutored after the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the seventh round out of Rutgers. Still, the way the Bears waited instead of forcing a selection to work at running back says they also think highly of the running back room they currently have.

Plenty assumed the Bears would try and recreate the "Sonic and Knuckles" duo the Lions had under Johnson with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The Bears have D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson who complement each other already. In the calls to draft a running back, plenty overlooked Johnson’s experience and talents. 

Seems like the Bears aren’t. Not spending a Day 2 pick on a running back speaks volumes to how the staff views Johnson’s role on this roster beyond just using him as a battering ram a the one-yard line. 

When was the last time a Bears coach said what Ben Johnson did?

From the moment his staff and the Bears players met at Halas Hall in Phase I, he made it clear this was a competitive environment.

Coaches have said before that players have to earn it, but it’s hard to believe it goes all the way up to the most significant positions. 

When was the last time a Bears coach made it clear this team is starting from the bottom? Johnson made it clear responding to a question about keeping players invested.

"We talked about it the moment the players got back into the building, call it three weeks ago now," Johnson said. "There is no depth chart right now. If you want to play, you got to go earn it. If you want a role, you got to go earn it. They know that. We were very straightforward and honest with them when they came into the building. I think all we did this weekend was we might have just turned up the notch, just a couple of dials for certain people in the building. That's a good thing. That's a healthy thing. That's where you bring out the best, not only in your team, but in each individual. I'm going to be curious to see is what guys look like when the ball's not in their hands on offense. You're right. We have a lot of weapons. How are you going to run your route when you might not be number one in the progression? How are you going to block your teammate when he has the ball? Because if you do those things right, then as a coaching staff, we're going to want to get you the ball a little bit more."

Johnson is going to challenge everyone on the roster. That’s where the immediate impact will come in training camp.

"It all ties together," Johnson said. "It all goes hand in hand. That's the beauty behind it."

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