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After a week in which the Chicago Bears were able to add three starters along the offensive line (Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman) and two on the defensive line (Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo) via trade and free agency, the remainder of their offseason additions will feel more like luxuries than necessities. That's admittedly a strange thing to say about a team that finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record, but with a new head coach and their two biggest on-field weaknesses already addressed, that's the position the Bears find themselves in.
Proof of this comes in Field Yates' latest NFL mock draft on ESPN, where he projects that the Bears will use the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Penn State tight end Tyler Warren.
“Is tight end a primary need for Chicago? No. Is it easy to imagine new coach Ben Johnson dialing up some incredible concepts and play designs revolving around Warren? Oh, yes,” Yates says. “Offensive line would have been the clear priority for the Bears, but they totally revamped their interior by trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and then also signing center Drew Dalman. The trenches already look much better on paper. So, let's get Warren, who is tremendous after the catch and could help quarterback Caleb Williams in a big way, into the top 10.”
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Now, I assume that Bears fans, like myself, will look at Field Yates' mock and likely not necessarily have a problem with Tyler Warren being the selection. The Penn State product is one of the most intriguing tight end prospects to come into the NFL in quite some time, and there's no telling all the creative ways that Ben Johnson would utilize Warren's unique skillset. But there was one question I did have about this being the pick… where is Ashton Jeanty going?
Since the Bears were able to so successfully refurbish their offensive line, it seemingly paved the way for Jeanty to be the 10th overall pick. The Heisman runner-up has expressed an interest in playing in Chicago, and considering how at Ben Johnson's previous home in Detroit, the Lions used the 12th overall pick on Jahmyr Gibbs in the 2023 NFL Draft, it's certainly a possibility that he'd look to replicate that while in Chicago. However, Field Yates projects that the Las Vegas Raiders will use the 6th overall pick on Jeanty, noting that “a Pete Carroll-coached team is always going to make the running game a substantial priority.”
So with Jeanty off the board, Tyler Warren is a more than suitable selection for the Bears here. He's a better pass-catching prospect than any of the wide receivers in this draft, so if you're looking for someone to make Caleb Williams' life easier, this is your guy.
