The Chicago Bears have fantastic cap space and draft capital at their fingertips entering the first offseason in the Ben Johnson era. They will make three draft choices in the first two rounds and have nearly $70 million available to spend before making any roster cuts.
General manager Ryan Poles has another opportunity to make big changes for the Bears organization and set up Caleb Williams nicely prior to his second NFL season. The Bears need to address the trenches heavily this offseason, but some new skill players will be necessary for Johnson to have a complete personnel group before Training Camp gets underway.
With Chicago holding the 10th pick in the first round, they could go in a few different directions in their attempt to land a true blue-chip prospect. A Heisman Trophy finalist made his case to Chicago at Radio Row on Thursday and he’s been linked to the Bears in a few mock drafts already.
Ashton Jeanty is interested in being drafted by the Chicago Bears
Jeanty put together one of the best seasons by a collegiate running back in recent memory and he will be a hot commodity come draft night. The Boise State product made it known to the media on Thursday that he would be very open to the idea of coming to the Windy City.
“You know, those Chicago Bears sitting pretty nice at 10, I think that might be a nice destination as well,” Jeanty said.
Ashton Jeanty eying the Bears?!?! pic.twitter.com/gx0qEqmoPI
— Harrison Graham (@HGrahamNFL) February 6, 2025
Jeanty finished the 2024 season with 2,601 rushing yards on 374 carries, averaging 7.0 yards per rush. He ran for 29 scores and had six different games with at least three touchdowns. Jeanty would join veteran D’Andre Swift in the Bears backfield, which would be on par for a Johnson-led offense.
Despite Swift being set to make a boatload of money in 2025, the two-back system of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit worked wonders for the offensive guru and he could look to bring that to Chicago. Jeanty and Swift have different running styles and would play off one another nicely, which is something that the front office will take into account come draft day.
The Chicago Bears have bigger needs than running back this offseason
Depending on how things shake out in free agency, it would be hard to see the Bears pass on the best offensive lineman on the board in the first round. Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times in his rookie season and needs time to operate in the pocket otherwise the weapons he has around him will not matter.
Will Campbell and Kelvin Banks Jr. are viable options for Chicago to look to on the offensive line in the first round if they don’t have the success in free agency that they are looking for. Even though they need to upgrade inside, having guys like Campbell or Banks Jr. available might be too hard to pass on if they are in that much of help up front.
When everything is all said and done, it will come down to what the Chicago Bears front office wants to prioritize in the draft. This is an extremely deep running back class so if they still want to make a selection at the positon, they can wait until the second round or later. If they feel confident in their trenches entering the first round, they can take a big swing on Jeanty if he is there for the taking.
Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson receives major news on Thursday night
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