2025 NFL Mock Draft: Could Bears be in market for OT in first round?

The 2025 NFL Draft is in the far (far) distant future, but don’t think for one minute that teams like the Chicago Bears aren’t already deep into their draft studies. Scouts turn their attention to the next draft class days after the final undrafted free agent is signed, and now that the calendar is inching closer to training camp, those same scouts will begin their intense evaluations for the 2025 class.

Bears fans can do the same by surveying the landscape of 2025 mock drafts. The number of 2025 mocks that have already been published is incredibly high, including a brand new first-round projection from the folks at Pro Football Network.

The Chicago Bears pick 17th overall in this mock draft, which is good news for fans who are used to this team being inside or just outside the top 10. Armed with Caleb Williams and an offense garnering preseason respect, the Bears are expected to push for the playoffs (or more!) in 2024.

A big reason the Chicago Bears offense is getting so much respect is the quality pair of offensive tackles that headline the offensive line. Darnell Wright, Chicago’s first-round pick in 2023, has the makings of a superstar, while Braxton Jones, whom GM Ryan Poles selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has developed into a quality starter over the last two years.

READ: Bears have AWESOME training camp strategy for Caleb Williams

Still, Jones is one of the Bears’ starters that they could soon look to replace, and that’s what happens in PFN’s 2025 mock draft with the selection of Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr.

#Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (6–4, 324)

Very raw, but naturally gifted pass protector. Physical run blocker. Plays with plenty of raw power. pic.twitter.com/I0ryJbJI8D

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) June 5, 2024

“After using the first round of the previous draft to bolster their offense with QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze, the Chicago Bears decide to protect their new assets with some blocking, selecting Kelvin Banks Jr. at pick No. 17,” PFN’s Keff Ciardello wrote. “A safe pick at this point in the draft, Banks has started every game since he was a true freshman and has earned All-American honors each year. At 6’4?, 325 pounds, he’s equally capable in pass or run protection.”

This pick makes at least some sense, depending on which side of the Braxton Jones debate you’re on. Some Bears fans believe there’s an opportunity to upgrade at left tackle and that Jones, while respectable, isn’t the kind of blue-chip starter that often anchors the best offenses. Other Bears fans are thrilled with Jones and believe his presence will allow Chicago to attack another area of need, like edge rusher.

I’m somewhere in the middle. And I think I’ll firmly settle on one side or the other after the 2024 season, Jones’ third in the league. If he continues at his current rate of play, he’ll establish himself as one of the top young offensive tackles in the NFL, and whether you like his pedigree or not, guys like him are hard to find. He’ll enter a contract year in 2025. If, for some reason, his play regresses by then? Sure, target an offensive tackle in the first round of that draft.

Indeed, this 2025 mock draft may be a year too early to project an offensive tackle to the Chicago Bears. Hopefully, it will just be dead wrong and Jones will continue proving he belongs in the Bears’ long-term plans.

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