Chicago Bears insiders in agreement on team's first-round target in 2025 NFL Draft

The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here, and for Chicago Bears fans, the next few days will be an excruciating test of patience.

This year's draft is unique for Bears Nation. It's not because Chicago has a top-10 pick; that's become far too customary. Instead, it's because this year's first round is shaping up to be the most unpredictable in years, and that includes what the Bears might do at No. 10 overall.

The speculation about Chicago's first-round target has been all over the positional map. From running back to tight end, from defensive tackle to edge rusher, just about every position -- including offensive tackle, safety, and wide receiver -- has been mentioned as a high-ranking Bears team needs.

The offensive line has been the main focus of Chicago Bears draft talk since around the midseason mark of the 2024 NFL campaign, and with GM Ryan Poles leveling up the interior offensive line through trades and free agency, attention shifted to left tackle early in the draft process. The injury to incumbent starter Braxton Jones in December, coupled with qualified top-10 first-round prospects at offensive tackle, made left tackle a logical projection in early mock drafts.

That narrative has since shifted to Ashton Jeanty (RB) and Tyler Warren (TE), but in a recent 2025 mock draft from The Athletic, Chicago Bears insiders Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns took a different (albeit familiar) approach to their first-round picks: both writers chose offensive tackles at No. 10.

Fishbain sent the Bears Kelvin Banks (Texas). Jahns sent Chicago Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon). And while the each prospect has their strengths and weaknesses on their scouting report, the point remains: some of the most locked-in Bears writers have Chicago continuing their offensive line rebuild.

"The decision here is the premium position versus the luxury pick," Jahns wrote. "Taking Conerly or one of the best pass rushers is the premium route. Tight end Tyler Warren is the luxury selection. The Bears need pass rushers, but protecting (and developing) quarterback Caleb Williams is essential to everything this season and beyond. With Conerly, Poles’ overhaul of the offensive line will be complete: left tackle Conerly, left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman, right Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright."

An important note: in this mock draft, Fishbain and Jahns are working under the idea that Jeanty is already off the board -- he gets selected sixth overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. But Warren is ripe for the picking, and both insiders pass on the pass-catching tight end to stick to the offensive line philosophy.

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