Buckle up, Chicago Bears fans. Thursday night could get weirder than you think.
Without a plethora of great QBs atop the draft and a limited number of true blue-chip players, everything from about pick No. 6 to the Bears’ pick at No. 10 could be completely chaotic.
What’s going to happen with Ashton Jeanty and Tyler Warren? Could Will Campbell or Mason Graham fall to No. 10? Should the Bears go offense or defense?
While taking a stab at those questions in his latest pre-draft analysis, The Athletic’s Adam Jahns made an interesting observation that could shape the way Chicago does business this time around.
“Don’t forget what happened two years ago with the Bears’ selection of right tackle Darnell Wright,” Jahns wrote. “He was considered a late first-round pick by most analysts. Brugler had him as his No. 24 player in the draft. But Wright plays tackle — an all-important premium position.”
And so Wright, who spent most of the pre-draft process being available in the second round on most PFF mocks and well behind the likes of Paris Jackson and Peter Skoronski on the top tackle rankings, became the second tackle off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft, one spot ahead of the aforementioned Skoronski.
So far, that move has worked out for the Bears as Wright has been a mainstay at right tackle and has looked like Chicago’s best offensive lineman.
Could something similar happen this year with a prospect we’re not talking enough about at No. 10?
Oh yeah.
With only one QB guaranteed to go in the top 10 (Cam Ward) and Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter all but certainly rounding out the top 3, the prospect of Jeanty lasting to No. 10 doesn’t feel as likely. Similarly, Warren could also go to an offense-needy team in the top 10 despite the poor history of highly drafted tight ends. Armand Membou could also end up going high as well, though he only played right tackle in college.
Given the Bears’ love of targeting premium positions first in their drafts under Poles, Jahns posits two names that make sense for Chicago as shocking late risers: Georgia’s Mykel Williams and Oregon’s Josh Conerly.
Williams didn’t light things up during a 2024 campaign in which he claimed he wasn’t healthy during, but his upside at just 21 years old feels undeniable.
“The individual traits (length, strength, explosiveness), promising toughness and football character are reasons to bet on his upside,” cites The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, via Jahns. “Similar in ways to Jason Pierre-Paul, he projects as an NFL starter on the edge.”
That comparison requires some projection for Williams, who didn’t individually dominate as a pass-rusher the way you’d like to see as a top-10 pick. But his raw power and football IQ stand out on a number of occasions, making him an interesting wild card pick based on ceiling.
A player who might require less overall squinting? Conerly, who is one of the few tackles at the top of this class who might actually stick at tackle long-term.
Brugler’s scouting report reads like that of a more technically savvy, NFL-ready Braxton Jones from the 2022 draft: “A quick, fluid mover, Conerly has the range to reach his landmarks laterally in pass protection and on the move, at the second level and in the run game.”
Conerly’s elite speed RAS and strong explosiveness measurements—along with 33.5-inch arms—help him hit all the thresholds the Bears seemingly would like in a left tackle, which has become a position of need as we head into the 2025 season.
Likewise, the Bears could have a look at Texas’ Kelvin Banks, who has generally slotted in behind Campbell as one of the best offensive linemen in the draft. The only issue with him: many scouts believe he’d be a better guard than tackle in the pros, potentially making him less interesting at No. 10.
What do they all have in common?
All play premium positions and are listed in the 20s among Brugler’s top prospects this year — just like Wright did two years ago.
While the Bears almost certainly seem to view Jeanty or Warren as their best realistic options at No. 10 overall, you have to have contingency plans. And in a draft where there aren’t as many elite premium position players as you’d like, the good ones might come off the board sooner than expected.
All that is to say: embrace the chaos, Bears fans. Even if you don’t love the pick, it’ll probably be entertaining at least.