For weeks, the prevailing view among top insiders, both national and local, was that the Chicago Bears would focus on defense in the 1st round of the draft. It made sense. The unit had finished 29th in total yards for the season, looking weak when they weren’t forcing turnovers. If the Bears wanted to take the next step, they’d have to get that side of the ball in order. The franchise hasn’t spent a 1st-round pick on defense since 2018, when they selected Roquan Smith. It feels like long overdue for that to change.
However, something has shifted over the past week. News began to surface that the Bears were putting in serious effort to evaluate the top offensive tackles in this class. People have wondered what is spearheading such a late pivot in the process. Is head coach Ben Johnson determined to solve the position once and for all? Is the team not liking the updates they’re getting about Ozzy Trapilo’s knee injury? Those are parts of it, but another factor has sparked the change.
Sources told SM that the team has a pretty good idea of what defensive line options they’ll have at 25th overall and aren’t enthusiastic about it.
The Chicago Bears are starting to see how the board is likely to unfold.
One thing apparent to many is that there will be a run on pass rushers at some point. Peter Schrager of ESPN revealed he believes as many as five edge rushers will be gone by the time the Bears go on the clock. Not only that, but the opinion of the incoming defensive tackle class has sagged considerably in the past month. Some believe only one might go in the 1st round, and that player is Kayden McDonald of Ohio State. Considering he’s a nose tackle, it doesn’t feel like somebody the Bears would get excited about.
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By contrast, experts see a strong cluster of offensive tackles in this class who will probably go somewhere in the 15-30 range. It isn’t crazy to think that a couple of them will be available when the Bears are on the clock. They’ve already met with Max Iheanachor of Arizona State and Caleb Lomu of Utah. Blake Miller of Clemson is another name to watch. All three would be legitimate fits in Johnson’s offense. No doubt the team is doing extra homework to find out who fits their culture the best.
The Bears’ plan is taking shape.
If things keep trending in this direction, it’s pretty clear what they plan to do. While the options at #25 on defense aren’t great, that changes in the 2nd round. Edge rusher is one of the deepest in the draft. Defensive tackles should start coming off the board, and there will be plenty of good safeties, linebackers, and cornerbacks. Chicago has two 2nd round picks. They can easily save both of them for that side of the ball, giving Dennis Allen two legitimate talents to work with.
Meanwhile, Coach Johnson finally gets that sense of clarity at left tackle that he’s been chasing for over a year. While Braxton Jones and Jedrick Wills will compete for the job, whoever they choose in the 1st round will be considered the heir apparent at some point. It’s not a bad plan, and once again shows the Chicago Bears’ willingness to shift direction if they sense things aren’t unfolding as they hope. It happened last year when the left tackles and Ashton Jeanty went early. They opted for Colston Loveland, which worked out pretty well.
