The Chicago Bears are one week away from finding out who they will get at the 10th overall pick. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson know its importance. If they can land a difference-maker with that selection, this team is good enough to finally start winning football games. Perhaps no name has garnered more of a debate than Ashton Jeanty. Conventional wisdom over the past 20 years is that smart teams don’t draft running backs in the 1st round. However, this young man feels different.
Every so often, a player comes along that you can categorize as special. They do everything at a high level, showcasing the kind of talent that can carry a franchise. He already proved it with a season for the ages in 2024, putting Boise State on his back as they reached the college football playoffs. This doesn’t come from pure skill, though. Not in his mind. Jeanty penned a letter to the Bears and every other team in the Players Tribune. He isn’t just a good running back. He’s different.
If you want to win, then you’d better draft him.
I truly believe I was born to do this. And I truly believe what makes me different — it isn’t about the position I line up at. It’s about the mindset I bring to it.
Those 11 dudes on defense … they’re on a football field playing football.
Me — in my mind? I’m still in the backyard with my friends, playing “no one can touch me.”
I’ve taken the long way. I’m done with that way. If you pick me, it’s simple: I’m coming to your franchise to do what Saquon and the Eagles just did. I’m coming to win, big, soon.
It’s TACKLE football … you know what I’m saying?
I’d draft the guy they can’t tackle.
Thank you for your time,
Ashton Jeanty
Ashton Jeanty feels like a lock if he gets to the Bears.
That is the tricky part of this entire equation. Due to the overall lack of blue-chip talent, experts believe teams will be less reluctant to take a running back in the top 10. Many don’t think Ashton Jeanty gets to Chicago at #10. The Las Vegas Raiders are considered the biggest obstacle at #6. Pete Carroll loves his running backs, after all. That said, there is a belief that if Jeanty does get past them, the odds of him landing with the Bears go way up. It is exciting to imagine him in Johnson’s offense, which has elevated multiple running backs to stardom like Jamaal Williams, David Montgomery, and Jahmyr Gibbs. Unlike at Boise State, teams won’t be able to focus on Jeanty alone either, unless they’re comfortable paying less attention to D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze. It’s a Catch-22 the Bears haven’t put together since 2013.
@Barry: Or, since the current buzz is that Cleveland is taking Hunter, wait to 1.03 and trade with the Giants. Won’t guarantee Carter, but pretty likely.
Of course, the team that gets Caleb and wins multiple super bowls with him will be pretty happy about the deal. Not sure if that could be either Cleveland or the Giants, but I think many people here think he’s a better prospect than either Carter, Hunter, or Jeanty.
Bottom line, the Bears aren’t trading Williams, so anything with that won’t fly.
@barry_mccockiner How about this?
Bears trade QB Caleb to Browns for Pick #2 and a 3rd rounder to get DE Abdul.
Then the Bears trade #10, RB Swift, and CLEV 3rd pick, and Bears QB Reed on the practice squad to Vegas for #6 to get Jeanty.
QB Bagent starts with a seasoned QB as backup.
I can think of 3-4 other ways.
@Dr. Melhus I put that scenario there because it’s the only way you get both players in this year’s draft. You have to get up to 1.02 this year while keeping 1.10 *and* ensuring Jeanty is there then. It’s literally the only trade scenario that does that. CLE isn’t trading 1.02 for anything less than a marketable QB1, which CHI has, or possibly for a list of elite players on rookie deals that aren’t expiring anytime soon, which CHI doesn’t have. Poles could offer CLE literally all the draft capital he has to deal, and the answer would still be… Read more »
@Barry: Sure. But then who plays QB for the Bears? Do you sign Rodgers? Give the keys to Bagent for the whole season? Or maybe Dart falls to 2.39, maybe not. Seems like a ridiculous plan to me, and probably everyone else here. The whole point is to pair Jeanty with QB1, Rome, DJ, and Cole, giving the Bears all kinds of really good (or good in Kmet’s case) weapons on offense working behind an improved line. If the only goal is to get Carter and Jeanty, there’s plenty of players the Bears could trade away, and none of them… Read more »
@Dr. Melhus: Getting both Carter and Jeanty is really straightforward. You deal QB1 to CLE for 1.02 and get Carter there, and then you draft Jeanty at 1.10, where he will be available because you’ve just made the rest of the league confused as all fuck about quarterbacks. There, you still have an unproven QB on a rookie deal, and you also have added an RB1 and EDGE1, both of whom will probably dominate for the next five years. If the goal is to get those two players in this draft, then this, and only this, is how you have… Read more »