The Chicago Bears were mentioned a lot during the trade sweepstakes for Maxx Crosby. In the end, it didn’t happen. He briefly went to Baltimore before failing a physical and returning to the Las Vegas Raiders. Not long after that, star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence went on the block, failing to resolve a contract dispute with the New York Giants. Some felt he was an even better target for the Bears, but the buzz wasn’t quite as hot this time around. Eventually, the Cincinnati Bengals swooped in with the 10th overall pick to seal the deal.

As it turns out, Chicago was far closer to landing Lawrence than people realize. According to insider Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports, he heard that the Bears offered the 25th pick to New York for the defensive tackle straight up. Obviously, that didn’t work out since the Bengals offered the more valuable pick. Still, it tells us a lot about what the Bears think of their 1st round options in this upcoming draft. They clearly don’t think any guy they take would be better than Lawrence.

Perhaps more interestingly, they might be more interested in defensive tackles than we thought.

Dexter Lawrence represented a fix to a big Bears problem.

For all the talk about rushing the passer, which is valid, the team has been just as bad at stopping the run. They were 27th last season and 28th in 2024. Rushing the passer is already difficult. Doing so when the opposing team has constant advantages in down-and-distance from running the ball well makes it even worse. Part of the reason for all of that was the Bears’ inability to hold the point of attack. Their defensive tackles were blown off the ball too often, creating constant open lanes.

That would not happen with Dexter Lawrence in the middle. Sadly, it didn’t work out. Yet the implications of this are clear. For the past few weeks, most experts haven’t been willing to mock possible defensive tackles to the Bears at #25 because they’re mostly known for their run defense, not their pass rush. This attempt to snag Lawrence suggests it might be a higher priority than expected. Suddenly, prominent names like Kayden McDonald of Ohio State, Peter Woods of Clemson, and Christen Miller of Georgia could be in play.

It’s been a long time since the Bears took such an approach.

The last time they took a defensive tackle in the 1st round was Tommie Harris in 2004. However, he was a clear interior pass rusher. To find a run-defending nose tackle in the 1st round, you’d have to go all the way back to Williams Perry in 1985. This was not a philosophy started by the current regime. It has been going on for decades. This would constitute a significant shift for the organization. That said, nobody would have any right to criticize them. Stopping the run is just as important as it’s always been. It just isn’t as flashy.

This Lawrence revelation at least leaves the door open for the possibility. Picking so late in the 1st round makes it difficult for the Bears to land a true difference-maker at the more premium positions like left tackle, edge rusher, and cornerback. However, most believe the defensive tackles won’t start going until late. That means they could have their pick of the entire class. It isn’t a terrible strategy. The Bears used it last year to grab Colston Loveland. Maybe lightning will strike twice.

The Chicago Bears stadium saga began in 2021 and has meandered back and forth for the past five years. Some wondered if it would ever actually happen despite them already owning the necessary property in Arlington Heights. Unfortunately, doing business with the Illinois government is always a dubious proposition. Sure enough, Springfield didn’t seem interested in cooperating, always finding ways to stall and ignore attempts by the organization to work something out.

All of that changed when the Bears began flirting with the idea of moving to Indiana.

Only then did the state government start taking the issue seriously. Things reached a critical junction this week as the Megaprojects bill, which would give the Bears property tax certainty to start construction, reached the House floor for a vote. According to Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois, the bill passed with a 78-32 vote. It was a massive step in the right direction for the team. Next comes the Senate. Unfortunately, many believe the bill in its current state won’t pass. That is why some amendments are expected before it’s put to a vote.

If it passes there, it goes to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk for signing.

Property taxes have driven this Chicago Bears stadium issue.

From the beginning, the organization stated that the current property tax law made it impossible for them to build a stadium because it would have driven the taxes up to astronomical levels. The most an NFL team pays in the league is $8 million per year. The Bears would’ve had to pay around $120 million. There was no way that was viable. For this reason, they have been pushing the Megaprojects bills to put a freeze on such taxes. The sticking point that held the bill up was the lack of support for residential homeowners and school districts. It appears the amendments offered in the House were enough to settle the issue.

“The measure would allow the Bears and other developers of megaprojects across the state to get a property tax freeze, for up to 40 years. That’s in addition to another annual “special payment”, negotiated with the local government…

…Half of the revenue generated from the special payment would be set aside for property tax relief. That sum would be split 60-40 between local residential homeowners, and a state-controlled property tax relief fund.”

As always, there are several politicians in the government with concerns about the bill. Such is the nature of politics. It is always like pulling teeth trying to get anything done. That seems especially true in Illinois. Most organizations probably would’ve taken Indiana’s offer by this point. However, the Chicago Bears have been an institution in this state for over a century. The McCaskey family didn’t want to be the ones who ended that until they exhausted every opportunity to work something out. It seems that persistence is paying off.

Momentum is building.

There are some who remain pessimistic that the bill can make it through the Senate. Opposition remains vocal. However, the government knows it’s up against a timetable. The NFL is set to meet the McCaskeys next week to discuss the Chicago Bears stadium situation. They want a resolution sooner rather than later. It is felt that if Illinois doesn’t show some real progress by then, the league will pressure the franchise to accept the offer from Indiana. That state has already passed the necessary legislation and picked a large plot of land in Hammond on the border. All they require is for the Bears to say yes.

This kind of pressure often spurs action. There is no way people in this government want to be known as the group who let a landmark franchise like the Bears leave for another state after over a century. It would be a monumental PR disaster. There is still time to work out the wrinkles of the bill so everybody can be happy with it. Results are expected within the coming days.

Last year, almost nobody pinpointed Colston Loveland as the Chicago Bears‘ preferred target in the 2025 NFL draft. Most either had them targeting a left tackle, a pass rusher, or tight end Tyler Warren. A few had a running back mixed in. That is why the Loveland news was shocking when it hit. However, a select few weren’t surprised. Two notable NFL insiders had pinpointed Loveland as the likely target right before the draft last year. They were Matt Miller of ESPN and Pete Prisco of CBS Sports.

Prisco stated that Loveland was a much better fit for new head coach Ben Johnson because of his pass-catching ability. Miller stated he’d been hearing all the way up to the draft that Loveland was the top tight end on Chicago’s board. Both were proven correct. So some people might find it very interesting that Miller and Prisco once again align on not just the same position but the same name in the upcoming 2026 draft. Here’s Miller’s final prediction.

Miller’s pick prediction: Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah

Offseason speculation has centered around the Bears going after an edge rusher or safety here, but my conversations with league sources throughout the past week kept going back to left tackle. Rookie Ozzy Trapilo played well in six starts before suffering a season-ending knee injury that is expected to keep him out in 2026. That opens the door for a left tackle to be picked if one is available. At only 21 years old, Lomu is a two-year starter who is plug-and-play ready on the blindside.

Now here is Prisco’s from a couple of days earlier.

Caleb Lomu OT Utah

They need a left tackle and Lomu might have the best athletic ability of any of them. He needs to add more bulk, which he can do. I like him more than Monroe Freeling, which is why he’s the pick.

Colston Loveland isn’t the only reason to trust these two.

Miller has built a strong reputation in the scouting community for his work over the past several years. It is why ESPN hired him in the first place. He is great at watching tape and connecting certain players to certain teams based on fit. At the same time, he has demonstrated solid sources inside the league, providing him with credible information. As for Prisco, the man was a beat writer for two decades in the NFL before becoming a mainstay on CBS. It is hardly surprising that he might have some pretty solid connections built up over the years.

One thing the two men share is a love of watching film. The same can be said for Bears head coach Ben Johnson and GM Ryan Poles. Perhaps that is a big reason why they managed to discern Colston Loveland as the real target last year. Too many other people just looked at the Bears and assessed the pick either based on need or whoever the best tight end was. Most thought it was Warren. However, Loveland was a better fit. The same can be said about Caleb Lomu this year.

Lomu checks some major boxes for the Bears.

Yes, he’s a left tackle, an obvious need following Ozzy Trapilo’s injury. However, it goes beyond that. Johnson said something that was important when asked about evaluating players. He likes ones who fit two categories: polished and young. The coach wants players who already exhibit good fundamentals and intelligence for the game, while also being on the younger side. This means they’re already equipped enough to play but still have plenty of room to keep growing. You saw that with Loveland last year. He was already a good route runner despite being only 21.

It is much the same with Lomu. Despite being only 21 himself, he demonstrates strong technique from his hand placement to his footwork after two years at Utah. His pass protection is considerably more advanced than that of other tackles in this class, which is a big selling point. The primary concern most people have is his lack of strength. He doesn’t showcase great movement in the run game and wasn’t often tested by bull rushes. He will need to bulk up, which can be corrected with the right meal plan and workout routine.

If this is indeed the Bears’ guy, the logic behind it is obvious.

The Chicago Bears knew they would have to put forward a strong offer if they wanted to lure Ben Johnson to become their next head coach. That ended up involving two key points. First was money. His $13 million per year deal was one of the highest for a first-time head coach in NFL history. Next, and perhaps most important, they granted Johnson significant say in every personnel decision moving forward. The easiest way to put it is that the head coach would have the final say on any roster additions moving forward.

That also means he would set the template for how he wanted players to be evaluated going into a draft. It was evident even last year that the Bears had changed their approach in several ways. They placed less emphasis on targeting needs, prioritized players with strong football passion, and sought younger players with good fundamentals. Perhaps what stood out the most was the drop in emphasis they put on pre-draft interviews and athletic testing. Johnson wanted everybody to be focused on the film. Assistant GM Jeff King revealed the name for it.

“It’s the silent tape,” King said. “When you put on tape, the guys we probably get excited about the most, you don’t have to read the character. You can see it. You can see how they compete, show up in big games, pick up their teammates, raise the level of their teammates’ games.

“We can read everything we want — articles and all this — but what players show on tape is usually the product that you’re going to get.”

Ben Johnson understands a fundamental truth.

Here’s the thing about interviews and athletic testing. You can prepare for those. Prospects spend weeks before the draft practicing what to say when they meet with a team and going through specific drills to improve their test numbers at the combine. That makes it difficult to get the truth from players. Their primary goal is to go as high as possible in the draft. Teams must be interested in taking the best player. Athletic tests and interviews don’t tell that story. Watching film does that.

Silent film is a perfect description. You can lie on tests and in interviews. You can’t lie on film. It showcases you at your purest. It shows how smart you are, how hard you play, and how much the game matters to you. The truth is, interviews probably do more harm than good in the evaluation process, which may explain why the Bears suddenly stopped using them to meet with prospects they want to draft. Instead, they save them for players they are less sure about. Ben Johnson deserves tons of credit for guiding this shift in approach.

There has been a persistent issue with past Bears general managers.

Something to remember about Poles and Ryan Pace is that they were very young when they took their respective jobs. Neither had been in their previous front office jobs for long before coming to Chicago. The thing about scouts is that they tend to become overly entranced by athletic capability. They often speak directly to the player or to teammates and coaches, all of whom feel obligated to talk him up as much as possible. That makes it dangerously easy to become obsessed with the wrong things. It is how the Bears ended up with Mitch Trubisky in 2017.

Ben Johnson has no intention of letting that happen. Interviews are important, sure. You want to at least get a feel for the kid’s personality and how he might mesh with a locker room. However, assessing the importance of a draft pick must be kept to watching the tape. If they don’t stand out there, no amount of words they speak will matter. Silent tape tells a story greater than any they or their agent can possibly spin. It is a sound strategy that has worked for decades.