Draft Insider Hints The Chicago Bears Are A Wild Card Teams Are Wary Of

There are usually two types of teams that generate excitement going into an NFL draft. Mostly, it’s the teams that are picking in the top 10. Everybody wants to know where the most talented players in the draft end up going, particularly the quarterbacks. It is just the nature of the process. However, another type of team creates intrigue. It is the one that nobody knows what it will do. They can literally go in any direction, from the type of player picked to trading up or down. That seems to be the spot the Chicago Bears have found themselves, and it’s creating some excitement in the draft community.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic alluded to this in a discussion with Jarrett Payton of WGN. He believes that because of where the Bears sit in the 1st round, it is likely general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson have reached the conclusion that this isn’t a good year to zero in on a specific position.

“You talk to fans, you might get a couple different answers about what they feel like is the top need,” Brugler said. “But I also think this is a draft where Poles might just look [and say,] let’s go best available. Let’s go with the guy that — because he’s looking at the 2027 roster, the 2028 roster — Let’s go with maybe a player that we didn’t expect to be here, and maybe it’s not an immediate need, but we feel like we’re making our team better by adding this to the mix.

“So, the Bears are really wide open.”

In other words, there is no way to know what the Bears will do. Even local insiders haven’t gotten a firm grasp on their intentions. That might be deliberate on the team’s part, hoping to create as much uncertainty as possible to throw other teams off the scent. In truth, it might just be because they have no idea how the board will fall.

The Chicago Bears aren’t able to focus on one or two positions.

The harsh reality is that despite their success in 2025, their roster is still incomplete. They have several positions in need of starters or upgrades before they can start being taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender. At the top of the list is left tackle, followed closely by edge rusher, defensive tackle, safety, and linebacker. This doesn’t mention the D.J. Moore void at wide receiver or the uncertainty at cornerback due to injuries last season. So you start to understand why the Bears are simply more interested in drafting good players at this stage.

It certainly worked out for them last year. Tight end and wide receiver were not at the top of the needs list last offseason. However, the Bears still chose Colston Loveland and Luther Burden because they were the best players available. Both became instant playmakers for the team. One would think the team has become more emboldened to use the same strategy this year. That means any assumptions being made about which position they target can’t go beyond speculation. That could terrify certain teams in the draft.

This entire discussion hinges on one factor.

That is where the Chicago Bears can trade down. The most consistent information SM has received in recent weeks is that the team would prefer moving out of the #25 spot and down the board. They aren’t afraid to jump out of the 1st round entirely. This would secure a couple of extra picks for them and put Poles in a spot he’s more comfortable with the player-value ratios. However, if the team is forced to stay put, the question becomes: which position likely offers the most talent with the least risk?

Based on what we’ve seen over recent weeks, it looks like that is offensive tackle. The Bears have paid close attention to every notable 1st round prospect in this class who could be available. They attended Kadyn Proctor’s pro day and have had private visits with Max Iheanachor and Caleb Lomu. You can’t ignore how left tackle, the most important position on offense that isn’t the quarterback, remains totally unsettled for Chicago. This may offer their best chance to fix it.