Five NFL Draft scenarios for Bears at No. 10: From Ashton Jeanty to an edge rusher

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. — As Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles began his pre-draft news conference Tuesday, one that is quite limiting in what he can say, he offered a preview of what we can expect Thursday night.

“I think this one’s going to be a little wild,” he said, “but we’re going to be prepared for all the different scenarios that pop up.”

Everyone knows who’s going No. 1. No one knows where Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders will go. It seems like everyone wants to trade back, but does anyone want to trade up?

The Bears are in a good position of having a top-10 pick without an obvious positional need but plenty of areas where Poles can jolt the roster, whether that’s giving head coach Ben Johnson a new weapon, quarterback Caleb Williams better protection or defensive coordinator Dennis Allen a game-changer.

Then again, play out as many mock drafts as you want, and the Bears could be in a tough spot at No. 10, with the top players gone and no one wanting to move up.

We do know that whoever the Bears take, they’ll be thrilled to get that player. Poles and assistant GM Ian Cunningham addressed the media ahead of their fourth draft together, and here’s a look at some of what we heard through the five scenarios facing the team at No. 10.

Hope the blue-chip prospect comes to you

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is No. 3 overall in Dane Brugler’s rankings, followed by Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 4, and then LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell at No. 6. Arif Hasan’s annual consensus big board has those players rounding out the top five.

While we always have to remember the Bears will have their own draft board reflecting Poles’ preferences, using his personnel staff and Johnson’s coaching staff, it sure seems like those three prospects are about as “can’t-miss” as this draft gets.

Now, that also limits the possibility of them getting to No. 10. Because of Jeanty’s position and Campbell’s arm length, there’s a chance they do, and that would seemingly create a nice situation for the Bears to get a Day 1 starter who grades out tremendously relative to that draft slot. Imagine Jeanty in the backfield to complement D’Andre Swift and give Williams a dynamic player to hand off to, or Graham on the defensive line next to Grady Jarrett, or Campbell as the starting left tackle next to the new additions on the interior.

Teams around the top 10 are certainly having the conversation about Jeanty and what it would mean to spend that valuable of a pick on a running back, a position not known for longevity or big contracts, but for Cunningham, it’s about finding a playmaker.

“That’s the beauty of our process, our philosophy is best player available,” he said. “Yeah, we weigh premium position versus non-premium position, but at the end of the day, it’s a playmaker. If we see him in that role, I think you can go take a playmaker that’s not a premium position.”

Take the game-changing tight end

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren could also be in that blue-chip category based on his rankings and athletic profile. Michigan tight end Colston Loveland makes this a rare draft where we could see two tight ends go in the top 15. That hasn’t happened since 1973. If the Bears take Warren or Loveland at No. 10, it would be their highest selection of a tight end since Mike Ditka.

Look at Sam LaPorta, and one can imagine what either player could do for Johnson’s offense in an abundance of “12 personnel” with Cole Kmet. But it is a luxury pick. It would set the Bears up to pay a lot of money at a position that doesn’t always demand it. It could pit Johnson’s daydreams versus the personnel department’s analytics, or maybe everyone is on the same page that either player is a rare impact player for the offense, position be damned.

Keep fortifying the offensive line

If Campbell is gone by No. 10, Missouri’s Armand Membou, Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr., Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State’s Josh Simmons could all be options. If we go by Brugler’s draft board, there’s a drop-off after Membou, the highly athletic lineman. Poles’ first first-round pick was right tackle Darnell Wright, who was also the franchise’s first top pick on the offensive line in a decade. Johnson saw what it meant in Detroit to have three first-round picks up front.

But what about Braxton Jones, who — if healthy — could hold his own on the left side? Or last year’s third-rounder, Kiran Amegadjie? Should the Bears prefer to take someone at a position that has an obvious starting spot available? Or do they go by the adage they hadn’t previously, which is to build the team inside-out? The Bears are happy to have Jones and Amegadjie, but if they draft a starting tackle, that perspective will turn to having those returning players as depth, more so than potential starters.

“I think we’re fortunate to have those guys in the building, right?” Cunningham said. “Braxton’s coming off injury and doing a great job in his rehab, but he’s a proven starter in this league. He’s mentally and physically tough. We know he’s gonna come back fully healthy and do a really good job. Having Kiran, last year, we knew what the issues were, just obviously him and his injury, but the mental toughness, the resilience, what he showed in that Washington game gave us hope, and obviously we saw what happened in Minnesota, but it was on a short week and a rookie and those sorts of things, but we have high hopes for both of those players.”

Poles did say that Wright has the versatility to play left or right tackle, which is something to remember if the Bears want someone like Membou, whose college experience has been at right tackle.

“We saw that in college,” Poles said. “That was part of the value in taking Darnell. If he had to play left, I think he could play left. Obviously, I think we’re all excited about his stuff to go right.”

Bolster the pass rush

“You can never have enough pass rushers,” Poles has said, and you can never use that quote enough, especially if the Bears decide to go that direction at No. 10.

Whether it’s Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, Georgia’s Mykel Williams or Marshall’s Mike Green, the Bears could get one of the draft’s best edge rushers. Or they could look at it from the interior, if Michigan’s Graham drops to No. 10, or Ole Miss’s Walter Nolen. Both positions are deep and have a plethora of players with Day 2 grades.

The strength and depth of a position could make it easier for the Bears not to go that route at No. 10. The inverse is true, too, if a position is top-heavy.

“It plays a lot into it just in terms of trying to anticipate where some of the drop-off’s gonna be, depending upon what positions we may have higher versus other positions, or at the same position,” Cunningham said. “Maybe there’s a larger drop-off. It just depends where we’re at at (Nos.) 10 or 39 or 41.”

Last season — granted, in a different scheme — No. 3 defensive end Darrell Taylor played in close to 40 percent of snaps when healthy. In 2023, the Saints had a similar split, with Tanoh Kpassagnon playing 36.6 percent of snaps as the No. 3 defensive end under Dennis Allen.

That snap count might not be as high as, say, Jeanty or a starting left tackle, but it’s still a position of need.

Go off the board and into the secondary

The Bears might have their starting secondary set for 2025. But what about beyond? And how comfortable are they with the backups, especially considering safety Jaquan Brisker’s history?

Brisker and Kevin Byard are both entering contract years. At cornerback, Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith provide nice depth opposite Jaylon Johnson, but after last year, how much does Stevenson have to do to win over the new staff? With Johnson and Kyler Gordon playing on new deals, it would also benefit the Bears to have someone on a rookie contract starting there in ’26 and ’27.

While the Bears can address these positions on Day 2 or 3, if a team is willing to trade up to No. 10 and offer Poles more draft capital, could that put a defensive back in play in the first round?

It would probably be the most surprising Round 1 move, along with linebacker, where there is a need for a strongside linebacker to join Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards.

South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori tops that position after one of the best combine performances ever. Georgia safety Malaki Starks should also be a first-rounder. Michigan corner Will Johnson and Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron are in Brugler’s top 30, and Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell is expected to be the first linebacker off the board.

The Bears should get an impact player in Round 1, and nearly every position could use a talent boost. Now we wait to see how “wild” it will get, and how that affects what Poles wants to do.

(Photo of Tyler Warren: Matthew O’Haren / Imagn Images)

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