CHICAGO — As the 2025 NFL draft neared, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles celebrated one of his biggest draft day wins to date.
Poles’ very first draft pick upon taking over Chicago’s front office in 2022 was cornerback Kyler Gordon, who was selected 39th overall in the second round. Gordon signed a three-year, $40 million contract extension ($31.25 million) on April 15, which made him the NFL’s highest-paid slot corner.
The move cements Gordon as a fixture — he is under contract with the Bears through 2028 — in a brand-new defense. The vision that Poles and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen have for the 25-year-old nickel consists of getting him on the field as much as possible. Allen said last week that he told Gordon to learn how to play outside corner and safety.
In addition to Gordon, right tackle Darnell Wright (10th overall in 2023), quarterback Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall in 2024) and wide receiver Rome Odunze (No. 9 in 2024) are among Poles’ biggest draft wins over three years.
On Thursday night, Poles is slated to make his fourth selection in the first round. Unlike previous drafts (the Bears did not have a first-round pick in 2022), Chicago’s top draft pick might not begin his career as a starter. Although if Adam Schefter is correct, and the Bears take Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, expect him to be featured in a prominent role.
Poles said if the Bears have a surplus at a specific position, he isn’t opposed to bringing in a player and allowing a training camp competition to decide who starts.
“If a young guy’s got to wait, then he has to wait,” Poles said.
The Bears are the only team entering the draft with three picks in the top 50 (Nos. 10, 39 and 41) and have seven picks in total. Chicago’s biggest needs are at left tackle, running back and pass rusher, despite addressing both sides of the line in free agency. Here is a look at what Poles’ previous draft history says about each position and how the Bears might handle these needs in the first round or later.
Offensive line
The Bears traded the No. 9 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 to move back one spot and draft Wright. In the process of passing on defensive tackle Jalen Carter, whose draft status was clouded after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing in connection with a fatal crash, Chicago filled its void at right tackle with a player who has started 33 games in two seasons. Carter, meanwhile, made the Pro Bowl last season while helping lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl win.
Braxton Jones, Chicago’s incumbent left tackle, was a fifth-round pick in 2022. He was one of four offensive linemen drafted by the Bears on Day 3 that year and the only to develop into a starter. Poles used a third-round pick in 2024 on Kiran Amegadjie, who started one game as injuries limited his rookie season.
Both Poles and coach Ben Johnson are encouraged about Amegadjie’s upside despite a rough go last season. Jones is expected to be limited for training camp while recovering from ankle surgery, so the depth chart at left tackle raises two questions as it pertains to the No. 10 pick: Is Amegadjie ready to take on a full-time role? Should Chicago be looking for a franchise left tackle with Jones entering a contract year?
“It makes it a little complicated when you’re now talking about three deep in that space, but I think it makes us ask tough questions when we’re watching, specifically, the left tackle, like, is this guy going to make us better in Year 1? Year 2? Year 3? How do we feel about our guys, especially in the case where [offensive line coach Dan Roushar] and [assistant offensive line coach Kyle Devan] and [offensive coordinator Declan Doyle] haven’t really had time with either one of their tackles.
“If we have two, three guys that we think are in that spot, they may not be there at 10 either. We’ll be ready for all the different situations that pop up.”
Running back
Jeanty is a consensus top-10 pick, but the chances of him still being available when the Bears are on the clock appear slim. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper projected the Raiders to select Jeanty with the No. 6 pick.
That doesn’t mean the Bears won’t be able to find a high-end complement to pair with D’Andre Swift, but it also doesn’t mean Chicago needs to reach for a running back at No. 10 when the team has two second-round picks and a third-rounder at No. 72.
“There’s a lot of flavors to be had here [at running back],” Johnson said. “Value Day 1, Day 2, all the way through Day 3, and I think there’s going to be a lot of good undrafted prospects as well this year, particularly at that position.”
Poles has not drafted a running back higher than the fourth round, when he selected Texas’ Roschon Johnson 115th overall in 2023. Johnson totaled 502 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons, often in short-yardage situations, but has struggled to cement a bigger role in the backfield.
Trestan Ebner, a sixth-round pick who is no longer in the NFL, is Poles’ only other draft pick at running back. Chicago did have some success in undrafted free agency in 2024 with the signing of Ian Wheeler, who is expected to compete for a spot on the depth chart one season removed from tearing an ACL as a rookie.
Defensive line
Chicago is the only team in the NFL that has not drafted a defensive player in the first round from 2019 to 2024. Poles has been most active at finding defensive starters in the second round of the draft with Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker in 2022, and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in 2023.
The Bears added significantly to their pass rush in free agency with end Dayo Odeyingbo and tackle Grady Jarrett but have hinted at wanting to add more based on Allen’s philosophy up front.
“He wants a very aggressive attacking defense, especially the defensive line,” Poles said. “That mentality is definitely going to be there. That’s something we’ll get done, and we have a lot, and we’ve done it in free agency as well.”
Poles traded back into the fifth round in 2024 to draft the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Austin Booker, who fit as a rotational edge rusher while playing 26.5% of defensive snaps as a rookie. The Bears believe Booker can reach his ceiling when he puts on more weight and continues to get reps. The same can be said for Dexter, who became Chicago’s starting 3-technique in his second season.
While the book is unwritten on those two defensive linemen, Poles’ other draft picks have yet to pan out. The Bears spent a third on DT Zacch Pickens and a seventh on Travis Bell in 2023. Pickens has struggled to crack the depth chart, while Bell only made the practice squad.
Dominique Robinson, Poles’ lone defensive line pick in the fifth round in 2022, has also struggled to cement a role for himself after appearing in 17 games as a rookie (with seven starts) and being a healthy scratch 11 times during the 2024 season.
Tight end
This position is a wild card, given the Bears have never drafted a tight end during Poles’ tenure. The last time the franchise brought in a rookie tight end via the draft was Cole Kmet in the second round in 2020.
Kiper had the Bears taking Penn State tight end Tyler Warren at No. 10 in back-to-back mock drafts. It makes sense, given Johnson’s offense in Detroit used 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 WR, 2 TE) at the third-highest rate in the NFL (32.2% of plays) in 2024. Lions tight end Sam LaPorta was Detroit’s third-leading receiver (726 yards) and tied for the second-most receiving touchdowns (7).
Both Warren and Michigan tight end Colston Loveland project to be selected in the first half of the first round, though Warren had better production (104 receptions, 1,233 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns for the Nittany Lions in 2024) during his final collegiate season.
Johnson said Kmet will play “a critical role” in what the Bears do offensively. That could lead Chicago to finding a complementary piece for the veteran tight end in the first round.
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