Going into the 2025 NFL draft, almost everybody assumed the Chicago Bears would focus on one of two positions with their 10th overall pick in the 1st round. They would either take a left tackle like Kelvin Banks or Armand Membou, or they would take a pass rusher like Mykel Williams. So you can imagine the surprise on people’s faces when the Bears selected Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. Not only was he somebody seldom discussed for most of the spring, but many didn’t even consider him the best tight end on the board. It soon came out that the decision was largely driven by head coach Ben Johnson.

Insiders had indicated for some time that he had significant sway in personnel decisions after the Bears hired him. This was the first confirmation of that. Loveland fit Johnson’s system perfectly, and it showed throughout last season as he developed into a playmaker. The head coach said his goal is less about positional value and more about adding good football players. It might be time to wonder if the same thing could happen again this year.

College insider Joel Klatt predicts it will happen again next month when the Bears select wide receiver Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State.

Ben Johnson being attracted to Tyson would be a surprise.

When you watch the receiver on tape, you immediately see qualities that the Bears’ head coach covets. He’s 6’2″ and over 200 lbs, which have been typical requirements for wide receivers under him. His route-running is polished and smooth, undoubtedly thanks in large part to working with Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward. His quickness and agility allow him to play inside or outside, and he has great body control to make tough catches. Also, like Ward, he is a willing competitor in the running game.

That all sounds like a Ben Johnson wide receiver. The concern with Tyson, and likely the reason he will be available at #25, is health issues. He battled through knee, collarbone, and hamstring injuries across three seasons. Nobody questions his toughness. Putting up 105 yards and a touchdown against the stacked Texas Tech defense with two bad hamstrings was proof of that. Tyson has a game tailor-made for the NFL. The obvious concern is whether his body can hold up.

One must not forget the commitment the Bears have made.

After so many years of prioritizing defense and running the ball, Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles have made it their mission to build around their young quarterback. Trading D.J. Moore was necessary for business reasons. It is not that the team wanted to do it. They had to. This doesn’t even account for the loss of Olamide Zaccheaus, who left for Atlanta in free agency. The depth and firepower of the receiving corps are leaning on Rome Odunze and Luther Burden. Don’t forget Odunze missed lots of time last year with a foot injury.

It isn’t crazy to think the Bears aren’t as comfortable with their receiver situation as others might be. Experts believe this draft is deep at edge rusher and safety. That means the team could turn right around and grab one of each with their 2nd round picks, then go after a center or defensive tackle in the 3rd. Will they draft a wide receiver? Probably not. Tyson isn’t expected to be available that late, but Klatt raises an important point. Don’t dismiss Johnson’s influence in this decision.

George McCaskey comes across as an owner who prefers to avoid conflict in any capacity. Confrontation has never been something associated with the Chicago Bears chairman. However, people often misconstrue that the man has no convictions. That couldn’t be further from the truth. McCaskey can be very passionate about things he believes in and is willing to fight for them. One of them has been the Rooney Rule, a practice in the NFL meant to help minority coaches and executives advance.

McCaskey is one of the few owners in the league to employ a black president and a black general manager. It isn’t crazy to think he would be a stickler for the rule in all its forms. That includes the new incentive program where teams are awarded two compensatory picks for helping such candidates get hired to the top job. So when the Bears were denied such a return for Ian Cunningham becoming Atlanta’s new general manager, it apparently didn’t sit well. According to Adam Hoge of CHGO, it could lead to consequences later this month.

Indeed, the Rooney Rule and controversy involving the Bears not receiving compensatory picks for Cunningham’s departure is bound to be on the agenda in some form later this month at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix.

An interesting wrinkle in this saga is that Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren has served as a member of the NFL’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee since joining the team in 2023. Before that, Bears chairman George McCaskey served on the same committee and is still actively involved in the NFL DEI Committee efforts.

Apparently, that was not enough to help the Bears win their appeal, but it surely should influence discussions around possible changes to the Rooney Rule and any needed tweaks to the language deciding how compensatory picks are distributed in these situations.

George McCaskey can be a force when he feels slighted.

A certain degree of power comes with owning one of the league’s landmark franchises. The McCaskeys may not be major political players like Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft, but they have sway. If they’re aiming to get the Rooney Rule addressed during meetings in Arizona, you can bet the matters will be discussed thoroughly. Yes, the Bears were screwed out of their picks. Literally everybody except the people running the NFL agrees that was the case. There is nothing to do about it now. However, McCaskey has every intention of making sure it doesn’t happen again.

The first thing to deal with is the confusing language of the rule that started this mess. It stated that whoever held the “top football title” in the organization was the real decision-maker. That is why Matt Ryan is considered the actual power in Atlanta, despite many assurances that it is Cunningham. The language must be adjusted so the league can confirm who the actual decision-maker is, whether through contract language or another means. There have been proposals offered in the past to introduce standardized job descriptions, ensuring the GM is always the top football executive in an organization.

McCaskey isn’t the only one motivated.

General manager Ryan Poles also seemed upset about the situation. Cunningham was his friend and right-hand man for four years, building the Bears from league-worst to division champions. He knew the NFL rules well. While he wishes it didn’t take such incentives to hire minority candidates, the fact is that they exist. He was likely banking on getting those two draft picks once Cunningham was eventually lured away. So to be denied because of a technicality leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

George McCaskey will focus on getting the rule adjusted. Poles will focus on making the rest of the NFL pay by putting together a strong draft without the picks. He will make everybody realize it’s probably a good thing the Bears didn’t get the picks, otherwise he would’ve done even more damage. Few things motivate competitors like the feeling of being cheated.

Only one position hasn’t been addressed by the Chicago Bears in free agency to this point. That is an edge rusher. Their one move at that spot was bringing back Daniel Hardy, and that was a special teams decision. Their rotation took a minor hit when Dominique Robinson left. Dayo Odeyingbo won’t return from his Achilles injury until maybe the start of the regular season. The Bears have serious concerns at that spot. Though most of the big names have already been scooped up, Cam Jordan is not one of them.

The eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end became a free agent for the first time in his career this month after spending 15 years with the New Orleans Saints. Though 37 years old, he had 10.5 sacks last season, proving he can still go despite his age. People have waited to see what he’ll do. The only things known are that he intends to play in 2026, and it will likely be for a new team. Jordan appeared on Terron Armstead’s podcast recently with an update. Three teams are on his list.

The Bears are on the short list for Cam Jordan.

People close to the situation in Halas Hall informed SM that the organization and the future Hall of Famer have been in contact for some time. Talks remain cordial and ongoing. Jordan hasn’t made a decision and seems content to weigh his options carefully. This is nothing new for players of his age. Older veterans usually don’t feel the pressure to get the ball rolling. Jordan is known for being intelligent and outspoken. He won’t do anything until he’s certain his decision is what is best for him.

Chicago certainly has some things going for it. The defensive end will want to join a contender. He remains without a Super Bowl ring and will want to go somewhere that gives him that opportunity. The Bears were close to reaching the NFC Championship last season. They have the offense in place. A solid defense is the one missing ingredient. Also, they employ Dennis Allen as their defensive coordinator. He and Jordan worked together for ten seasons in New Orleans. That familiarity will be a big selling point.

Jordan would ease pressure on the Bears ahead of the draft.

Right now, almost everybody agrees that a pass rusher is the team’s top need going into April. It doesn’t matter if it’s interior or edge. They don’t have enough of either. Adding Cam Jordan would soften that a little. They would have a solid three-man rotation of him, Montez Sweat, and Austin Booker. Bears general manager Ryan Poles would then be free to play the board as it falls. If a top edge rusher is there? Take him. If it’s a defensive tackle, a safety, or a linebacker? Take them. The Bears would be free to grab the best talent.

This is something teams often do. If you leave yourself saddled with an unaddressed position in March, you’ll also have to address it early in April. That is what happened to the Bears in 2023. They needed offensive tackle help that year but failed to sign any of the prominent free agents. As a result, Poles used the 10th overall pick on Darnell Wright, who many felt was a reach. Thankfully, it worked out, but this is not a scenario the Bears want to be in again. Signing Jordan wipes out the last such risk.

For the longest time, everybody agreed that developing a good quarterback was by far the Chicago Bears‘ biggest weakness. After decades, it looks like they finally corrected that issue. After drafting Caleb Williams #1 overall in 2024, they hired Ben Johnson as head coach to oversee his development. The quarterback responded with one of the best seasons in franchise history, winning the division. With that issue cleaned up, it begs the question. What blind spot must they confront next?

That is unequivocally the pass rusher issue. Brett Kollmann of the Bootleg Podcast, one of the best film evaluators and a longtime Bears fan, stated on 104.3 The Score that the team has had a serious problem developing pass rushers for over 20 years.

In truth, it’s been longer than that. Since 1990, only two players drafted by the Bears have managed to crack 40 sacks in a career. The last one to crack 50 was Richard Dent way back in 1987. No one else has gotten close since then.

The Chicago Bears have been haunted by two issues.

One is talent evaluation. It’s not like the team hasn’t tried to add pass-rush help. They’ve invested six 1st round picks on the defensive line in the past 35 years. The problem is they often do a poor job of pinpointing the player who would transition to the NFL best. Spellman was selected 22nd in 1992. Robert Porcher, who had 95 career sacks, went 26th. Michael Haynes went 14th in 2003, while Calvin Pace (60 sacks) went 18th. Last, and probably worse of all, they took Shea McClellin 19th in 2012, watching Chandler Jones (112 sacks) go 21st. If your team struggles to even identify what good pass rushers are, that’s a gigantic problem.

Unfortunately, it’s compounded by the fact that the Bears also suck at developing talent once they find it. Leonard Floyd is a perfect example. He managed 18.5 sacks in four seasons with the Bears. In two years after leaving for the Rams, he had 19.5 sacks. Mark Anderson was another example. He had 12 sacks as a rookie, but only 9.5 in the three following seasons. He gets traded to Houston, has four sacks in 11 games, and then adds ten more with the Patriots in 2011. In both cases, the players immediately flourished after leaving Chicago. That speaks to a coaching problem.

This is why the team has leaned heavily on veteran acquisitions.

It has been a recurring theme for the past 25 years. It started with trading for Adewale Ogunleye from Miami in 2004. Then you had the signing of Julius Peppers in 2010, the massive trade for Khalil Mack in 2018, and, of course, the most recent trade for Montez Sweat in 2023. Each of those moves yielded positive results, but only in the short term. All four players have made the playoffs a combined four times in a Bears uniform. That is the downside of such an approach. A big-name veteran will give you an immediate jolt, but it won’t be able to sustain it.

That is why drafting is far more important. It isn’t a coincidence that the Chicago Bears’ most successful era was in the 1980s. They had two Hall of Fame pass rushers they’d drafted in Dent and Dan Hampton. A big reason for that success was that they had a good talent evaluator at the top in GM Jim Finks and the superb Dale Haupt coaching the defensive line under Buddy Ryan. Based on how the Bears are structured right now, there are serious questions about their ability to fix this issue.

Poles is playing chicken.

He had a chance to get some help in free agency by adding a proven free agent. The Bears passed. Now all of the best options are gone. The track market isn’t likely to be any help. That means Poles is banking on finding a solution to the pass-rush problem in the draft, something that has not happened for this organization in years. If that weren’t enough, they are putting their faith in Jeremy Garrett, the team’s defensive line coach. He doesn’t exactly have an established track record for developing drafted players.

It’s hard to imagine where the Chicago Bears’ brass is getting such confidence. Perhaps the 2026 draft class being strong at edge rusher is helping. The odds of landing a good one are higher. Still, after what happened with Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner last year, it’s hard to feel confident about this. Neither was playing well even before they got hurt. Yet here they are, acting as if they can solve the problem in an area of the offseason that has been unkind to them for a long time.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles had every reason to celebrate in January. After four long years of days and nights spent trying to build this team into a winner, he finally saw success in 2025. Chicago went 11-6, won the NFC North, and beat the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round. It was a massive step in the right direction for an organization that had been a laughingstock for too long. People wanted to know what came next. Poles watched his team come an overtime away from the NFC Championship. Surely he’d come out aggressive this offseason to get them over the hump.

In truth, that hasn’t happened. The Bears were surprisingly calm during the opening days of free agency, making safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush their only two significant signings while everyone else came in on modest backup deals. Meanwhile, key starters like Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Nahshon Wright, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson signed with other teams. D.J. Moore was traded, and Tremaine Edmunds was cut. People can’t help but feel the team has downgraded. However, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic has heard praise for this approach.

Ben Johnson’s first season as the Bears’ head coach was a blast, and led to an appearance in the divisional round. Sustaining success means not getting lost in the light. So far, good job by the Bears — who made moves to shore up their interior defensive line and add to a secondary that also lost five players, and did what they could to mitigate the damage along an offensive line dealing with injury questions at tackle and the surprise retirement of starting center Drew Dalman. Meat-and-potatoes moves for a team that could have been high on its own supply, but stayed disciplined and self-aware and basically set up its intentions for the draft: Offensive and interior defensive linemen, and pass rushers.

Ryan Poles avoided the trap Washington walked into last year.

Most Bears fans will remember the Washington Commanders in 2024. Riding the wave of a hot rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels, the team went 12-5 and reached the NFC Championship. Though they lost to the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles, it’s clear many in the building felt their timeline had been accelerated. They had the pieces to win now. All they needed was one more push. This was despite apparent warning signs that the team had an aging roster that was in danger of running out of gas. Even so, they came out swinging in free agency and the trade market last spring.

Washington gave up four current and future draft picks for veteran left tackle Laremy Tunsil and another pick for wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Sure enough, injuries slammed the team almost immediately. Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin missed seven games. Daniels missed ten games with knee and elbow injuries. Pass rusher Dorance Armstrong missed half the season. Unsurprisingly, the team’s age and lack of depth couldn’t compensate for such setbacks, and they finished 5-12. Now, some fear the organization doesn’t have the necessary draft stock to avoid a significant rebuild.

The hardest part of being a GM is self-reflection.

Ryan Poles’ responsibility is to make the Bears a good team. Part of that process is being realistic about where the team is at. Yes, Chicago made the playoffs last year. Yes, they have an exciting young core headlined by Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden. They also had the league’s 29th-ranked defense last year, which barely avoided criticism because of the many turnovers they forced. That can’t be expected to repeat in 2026. Keeping the roster together wouldn’t have made the Bears better.

Washington didn’t have that same moment. Despite having one of the softest defenses in the league during their miracle run in 2024, their three biggest moves of 2025 were a trade for a left tackle, a trade for a wide receiver, and drafting a tackle in the 1st round. Poles’ two biggest moves so far? Signing an ascending safety and signing a fast linebacker coming off a career year. He is attacking the primary issue with the roster while sticking to the original plan of building through the draft.