University of Kwazulu-Natal

Grading The 2025 Chicago Bears Draft Class

Bonisiwe Shabane
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grading the 2025 chicago bears draft class

Two days before the draft, Colston Loveland was branding calves in Idaho. Now, he's the Bears' first-round pick. He goes one-on-one with FOX 32's Cassie Carlson. The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books. How did the Bears do? Here's how we grade all eight of the Chicago Bears' selections in the 2025 NFL Draft.

This was a bit of a surprise at the moment. Plenty expected Tyler Warren to be the pick. But, after meeting Loveland and seeing how he carries himself, it’s clear that he’s a clear fit for Johnson’s offense. Johnson told Loveland he sees Sam LaPorta in him. That’s high praise, considering LaPorta was an All-Pro player as a rookie. Loveland is primarily a receiving threat that pairs with Cole Kmet.

Loveland is a player who can be utilized in so many different ways: pop passes, leak routes, screen plays, vertically and horizontally. He’s not as talented as a blocker as Kmet or his draft counterpart Tyler Warren, but he can grow in that area while providing an immediate receiving threat. The Chicago Bears entered the 2025 NFL Draft with momentum and unusually high expectations. General Manager Ryan Poles had already retooled the roster through free agency and trades. He provided up-and-coming quarterback Caleb Williams with a stronger supporting cast. As the bright lights of draft weekend hit, though, the Bears had a chance to further fortify their foundation.

Poles and his front office made a flurry of bold and surprising picks in their pursuit of sustained contention in the NFC. The Bears’ moves in free agency opened the whole board to the team in the draft, just as Poles said it would. Chicago was no longer shackled by glaring weaknesses but still had strategic needs. They need to identify a long-term solution at left tackle with Braxton Jones entering a contract year. Additionally, they needed to find a back to pair with D’Andre Swift. Of course, the Bears also wanted more disruption along the defensive line, whether on the edge or inside.

Offensive line depth, defensive line juice, another running back, secondary help, and tight end were all on the shopping list. Interestingly, the Bears seemed to tick almost every box. Here we'll try to hand out grades for every pick that the Chicago Bears made in the recent 2025 NFL Draft. The Bears had eyes on moving up but ultimately stood pat at No. 10. That's where they chose Michigan tight end Colston Loveland over consensus top tight end Tyler Warren.

It's a curious decision that raises questions. Loveland is an athletic pass-catcher with natural hands and a wide catch radius. However, Warren was considered a safer, more complete option. That said, Loveland fits into an offense that is loading up on dynamic weapons. He could eventually thrive alongside Williams. Still, the margin for error at this spot feels slim.

Doubling down at wide receiver after drafting Rome Odunze in the first round a year ago seemed strange at first. On the flip side, the talent and fit are undeniable. Luther Burden III is a rugged, versatile weapon. He can line up all over the formation and create after the catch—much like Deebo Samuel. Burden gives Williams another explosive option and should allow the Bears to dictate matchups. Pairing Burden with DJ Moore and Odunze gives Chicago one of the most exciting young receiver trios in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears entered another vital draft, trying to return to relevance in the second year of the Caleb Williams era and the start of the Ben Johnson era. With OTAs in full swing, I thought it was high time to take a quick look back at the 2025 NFL Draft for the Bears after selecting eight new players (five offensive players, three... Here's how everything shook out in the three days at the NFL Draft for the Bears and my grades for each selection. With their golden ticket in Boise State running back Ahston Jeanty already gone at pick six to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Bears stood pat at No. 10 and took Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. Loveland seems to be the perfect complement to TE1 in Cole Kmet, with not only his ability to block, but also the fact that he is one of the smoothest route runners in the...

Despite being limited to just 10 games for the Wolverines, he still put up 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns. Pairing Loveland and Kmet together looks to be a dynamic pairing, with the Bears being able to run tons of two-tight-end sets and using them in a variety of ways. The potential seems to be off the charts with Loveland, who has received several comps to Johnson's former tight end in Detroit in Sam LaPorta. Not all of that is based simply on the fact that Johnson coached LaPorta and now has drafted a new tight end. You can look at the speed, the breaks out of his routes, and even the blocking to see that Loveland and LaPorta share a lot of similarities. Whether he can reach that level will be the biggest question, and how his development will be affected with Kmet on the roster.

The other aspect is that using a top-10 pick on your number two tight end may not be the best use of your assets. Not that this was the deepest tight end draft, but maybe drafting an edge rusher next to Montez Sweat would have been the preferable option in this scenario for a much more dire need... Part of this reeks of arrogance from Ryan Poles, and some of it is justified this time (unlike the Tory Taylor pick in the fourth round). The Bears are in a much better position than they were a year ago, so this pick works better. Aside from that, this is a good pick from Poles and adds another weapon for Williams. The 2025 NFL draft is officially in the books, and the Chicago Bears emerged with some potential elite skill players and players who could develop into long-term contributors.

While this draft class might lack the flare of last year's -- mainly because of quarterback Caleb Williams and receiver Rome Odunze -- the Bears added some playmakers on both sides of the ball... For general manager Ryan Poles and company, it was all about going with the best players available. "Our goal was to really lean on the board," Poles said. "We put a lot of time into it. We wanted it to really speak to us. I talked about that over the last two days, not forcing really anything for need, but really just taking the best guys.

And we just keep adding that to the roster to increase competition and to make our football team better and I thought we were able to do that." When you look at the top of the draft for Chicago -- notably tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III -- you get a sense of the offense that head coach... Here's a collection of all of the grades for the Bears' draft class from various media outlets, where experts agreed Chicago was among the biggest winners. Jay Cutler threw a pair of touchdowns, Greg Olsen cleared 100 receiving yards, and Matt Forte was the picture of stability (28 touches for 134 yards). It was a great time to be a Bears fan. It was January of 2010.

That was the last time this franchise won a playoff game, but there is optimism in the Windy City these days with Caleb Williams locked in as their franchise quarterback. Did they take a nice step forward in the 2025 NFL Draft? We take a look at the picks they made and what you can expect from the preps at the professional level. Looking for all 32 teams’ draft grades? Head to our 2025 NFL Draft Grades for All 32 Teams Tracker to see how we’ve graded other drafts. Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears’ front office hit the offensive side of the ball early and often in this draft.

This didn’t come as a major surprise since new head coach Ben Johnson is offensive-minded. The Bears’ offense struggled during Caleb Williams’ rookie season, and they made it a point to put more talent around him heading into Year 2. Sports Editor Logan Sellers and Assistant Sports Editor Jacob Dachowski take you through each of the Bears’ picks for the 2025 rookie class. Overall, we give the class a grade of B+ The first rookie class for Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson is an interesting one. There were surprises early with the pick of Tight End Colston Loveland and many moves made by General Manager Ryan Poles.

These are the thoughts and grades of each of the Bears 2025 draft picks from our Sports Editor Logan Sellers and Assistant Sports Editor Jacob Dachowski. This is a great pick by the Bears. Loveland is a great pass-catching tight end and is a good enough blocking tight end. He’ll be a great asset for young quarterback Caleb Williams as he can help pick up short yardage in the middle of the field. Loveland also excels at getting up to grab contested catches, standing at 6-foot-6. Loveland is also capable of lining up as a wide receiver and causing problems for opposing defensive backs.

There was some criticism that came with this pick since the Bears already have a good tight end in Cole Kmet. However Ben Johnson is known for running a lot of 12 personnel, one running back and two tight ends, which makes me think this was a Ben Johnson pick. If you buy something from a link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. We’ll share your grades for the Chicago Bears players and overall class on Monday, but we wanted to share what some publications had to say about the 2025 haul of players picked by general... In case you missed it, or in case you need a refresher, here’s Chicago’s entire 2025 draft class.

First round: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan Second round: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri Second round: Ozzy Trapilo, OT, Boston College The Athletic has live coverage of Rounds 4-7 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Read more of The Athletic’s coverage from the 2025 NFL Draft: Best Players Available | Rounds 2 & 3 Grades | Day 2 Winners & Losers The Chicago Bears entered the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24 with seven picks over the three-day draft.

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