The Chicago Bears‘ offseason in 2024 was defined by a run on skill position players, while this year has been the opposite.
Chicago’s top five free-agent acquisitions included three offensive linemen and two defensive linemen via an effort to shore up the trenches, which were particularly problematic during the rookie campaign of quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
But with the NFL draft approximately two weeks away, the tide among analysts has turned toward the Bears picking up a weapon for Williams in the passing game after the team parted ways with veteran Keenan Allen in March. Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN predicted on Tuesday, April 8, that Chicago will draft tight end Tyler Warren out of Penn State after he put up a monster campaign for the Nittany Lions in 2024.
“Offseason moves to add interior offensive linemen Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman should buy Caleb Williams more time to throw. Landing Warren would give the second-year quarterback another reliable target,” Kiper wrote. “New Bears coach Ben Johnson could line up Warren anywhere, get him the ball and let him roll to first downs after the catch. The versatile tight end had 1,233 receiving yards last season, and 700 of them came once the ball was in his hands. Chicago got only 512 total yards out of its tight end room in 2024, but the combination of Warren and Cole Kmet could do some damage.”
Pairing Tyler Warren, Cole Kmet Would Offer Bears Offensive Versatility
Johnson is entering his first season as Chicago’s head coach, as well as his first season as a head coach for any NFL team, in 2025. However, he ran a successful Detroit Lions offense as coordinator for three years before joining the Bears this offseason, and his strategies in Detroit may offer quality insight into how he wants to build an offense in Chicago.
The Lions ran a ton of 12 personnel last season, lining up with two tight ends on nearly one-third of all offensive snaps, which led the league. Warren’s ruggedness and his sheer size — 6-feet, 6-inches tall and nearly 260 pounds — equip him as a blocker alongside Kmet.
Johnson has already voiced his intention to move Kmet around in different formations, but putting both Warren and Kmet on the field at the same time should theoretically allow the Bears to keep defenses off-balance with a common set from which the team can both run and pass the football effectively.
Bears Strong Candidate to Select Running Back in NFL Draft
Beyond the potential addition of Warren, Chicago is a strong candidate to select a running back at some point in the draft to pair alongside D’Andre Swift.
Johnson was Swift’s coordinator in Detroit before the team traded the running back to the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the 2023 campaign and replaced him by selecting Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round of that year’s draft.
The Bears are in a position to potentially select another running back to play alongside Swift, though may not reach for one if Boise State star Ashton Jeanty doesn’t fall to them at No. 10. In that case, Chicago could look at a running back with either of its two second-round picks (No. 39 and 41).
Kiper predicted in his most recent mock draft on Tuesday that the Bears will do exactly that at No. 41 by taking TreVeyon Henderson out of Ohio State.