The Chicago Bears shook up their entire offseason with their early free agency moves. Now, the state of the No. 10 overall pick has gone into a tailspin.
The Bears were widely expected to address the trenches with their first-round pick. However, they then traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and then signed center Drew Dalman. Defensively, Chicago signed Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett to massive deals. The roster holes that the Bears had previous to free agency aren’t as gaping now.
Because of that, many pundits are beginning to believe the team will select a skill position player at No. 10. Add Adam Jahns of The Athletic to the list. With offensive line taken care of, Jahns is a firm believer that the Bears should target running back Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren at No. 10.
“It’s a deep year for running backs and tight ends. But that doesn’t mean you should wait to add one,” Jahns wrote. “Taking the best running back in a good year for the position says more about what you’re adding as opposed to taking the third-best offensive lineman at No. 10.”
“The Bears need true difference-makers who “impact” the game as Poles said,” Jahns continued. “Jeanty or Warren should be able to do that immediately, especially in Johnson’s offense.”
Ashton Jeanty gives Chicago Bears running game a major boost
The Chicago Bears have already been deemed the favorites to draft Jeanty. But as the buzz continues to grow louder, so do the chances of the running back actually landing in Chicago.
Jeanty’s senior season at Boise State saw him run for an FBS-leading 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns. He finished second in the Heisman voting while winning the Maxwell, Doak Walker and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose awards. Jeanty was unsurprisingly also named a Unanimous All-American.
In terms of running back prospects, there haven’t been as many as heralded as Jeanty in recent memory. He has been rumored to go as high as No. 6 to the Las Vegas Raiders. Ultimately, any team that selects Jeanty will be expecting a day one starting running back to join their offense.
And that’s exactly what Jeanty would be in Chicago. D’Andre Swift can make plays, but he struggled to gain yards consistently in 2024. Jeanty would become the lead down back while Swift can cook in the passing game. Overall, the Bears would have a much more dynamic running back room with Jeanty.
It’ll come down to if the running back is still available at Chicago’s pick. From there, the Bears must decide if they want to use No. 10 on a running back. But Ben Johnson has done it before, and Jeanty might be the perfect prospect to buck the NFL Draft trend with.
What about Tyler Warren
Maybe running back ends up being too rich for Chicago’s blood. Instead, they can select the best tight end prospect in the draft in Warren. Brock Bowers proved with the Raiders in 2024 that sometimes a star rookie tight end can be franchise changing.
During his senior season at Penn State, Warren caught a Big Ten leading 104 passes for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns. He was named the Big Ten Tight end of the Year while also winning the John Mackey award and First-team All-American honors.
Warren is a big tight tight end at 6-foot-6, but he has the agility to make plays with the ball in his hands. Adding him next to DJ Moore and Rome Odunze would give Chicago a terrifying trio for opposing defenses to worry about.
Of course, the Bears still have Cole Kmet on their roster. But with Warren, Chicago can just run more 12 formations. Johnson loved using Sam LaPorta with the Detroit Lions. Now, he’d have two top flight tight ends to work with.
The offense would certainly change more adding Warren than it would Jeanty. However, if the Chicago Bears want an elite passing game, adding the best 2025 tight end prospect would certainly do the trick.
Chicago Bears land eye-opening prospect in latest PFF mock draft
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