With the NFL Draft being about a month away, there are so many options on the table for the Chicago Bears in the first round.
After signing Drew Dalman and trading for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney, offensive line could be off the board unless Ryan Poles wants to upgrade at left tackle. Running back could be a massive possibility with Ashton Jeanty, however with the 10th overall pick, it might be too big of a risk to take a running back that high in the draft. Some analysts even have the Bears taking tight end Tyler Warren with the 10th pick as well.
However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Chicago continued to look at upgrading their defense in the 2025 NFL draft, in particular at edge rusher. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper thinks the Bears will exactly do that. Kiper has the Bears taking an edge rusher from Georgia that has a lot of potential.
Mel Kiper predicts the Chicago Bears will draft Mykel Williams
Kiper predicts that Ryan Poles and the Bears will take the edge rusher powerhouse from the Georgia Bulldogs. Williams is a surprising pick for the Bears as many people expect them to still boost their offensive line or look to add another weapon for head coach Ben Johnson’s offense.
The former Bulldog was a Freshman All-American and made the Second-team All-SEC in his last two years of college. ESPN’s Kiper had this to say about the Bears taking him.
“I’ve gone offensive line for the Bears in both of my previous mock drafts, but that box was checked in free agency. Chicago traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson then signed center Drew Dalman. And while the Bears also added Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett on the defensive front, they could still use someone like Williams coming off the edge. They ranked in the middle of the pack last season in sacks (40) but were 24th in pass rush win rate (36.5%).
Williams is a toolsy prospect who can beat blockers with his speed or power. He missed time with an ankle injury early last season but still picked up five sacks. Given a little more time to develop, he could be a really solid NFL edge rusher.”
Williams checks plenty of boxes for what the Bears need at edge rusher. However, he does have some injury concerns.
Williams played most of the 2024 season with an injured ankle
© Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Williams suffered a grade 2 ankle sprain in the 2024 season opener, and he revealed to the media that he was injured for “the whole year” and played at less than 60 percent during the season. He still managed to have many impressive moments in the 2024 season 8.5 tackles for losses and tied for the team lead in forced fumbles with 2.
However, when injured he still managed to play very impressive football. Williams excelled on run defense and he does have the tools to develop into a really good pass rusher in the NFL. It’ll be interesting to see the route that Ryan Poles wants to take for the Bears. Anything can happen in the NFL draft and the possibilities for Chicago are wide open after how free agency has gone down.
Georgia’s Mykel Williams may have the most upside of any edge rusher in the 2025 Draft 🐶
He is a natural FREAK athlete with a monster power profile. pic.twitter.com/Y4sR0gdrvN
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) May 14, 2024
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