Bears superlatives for 2025 offseason

WCG’s lead draft analyst analyzes his “superlatives” for the Bears’ choices in the 2025 offseason.

Superlatives are a fun way to shake up your typical lists or rankings and present them in a new format. Fun fact: I was voted the Best Male Dancer in the Benet Academy graduating class in 2019, but I’m sure nobody cares about that, because I’m ugly and stupid.

On Sunday, I created some superlatives of my own and applied them to specific moves the Chicago Bears have made in the 2025 NFL offseason.

I tweeted this before a BABYMETAL concert, though I’m sure nobody cares about that fact, either.

The Bears were incredibly active between free agency, the 2025 NFL Draft, and the hiring of a new head coach and corresponding coordinators. A lot changed between the start of January and now, meaning there’s a lot of change to consider when making these superlatives.

Here are my explanations behind each of my choices.

Best move: Ben Johnson

I considered the trade for Joe Thuney here, seeing as though the Bears got a first-team All-Pro offensive guard for just a fourth-round pick. However, I can’t help but come back to the slam-dunk head coaching hire they made.

I’ve been on record saying I think Ben Johnson was the best first-year head coaching candidate since Kyle Shanahan in 2017. That stayed firm before the Bears hired him, and I’ll remain on that bandwagon to this day. He dominated as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, resurrecting Jared Goff’s career and leading the offense to incredible heights.

The Lions were top-five in the league in yards per game, points per game, and PFSN’s Offense+ metric all three seasons that Johnson was their offensive play caller. For a Bears team who know firsthand the difference coaching can make in a game, bringing him in should be a breath of fresh air. I truly believe Ryan Poles hit a home run here.

Worst move: Dayo Odeyingbo

There was a clear vision with the Bears signing Dayo Odeyingbo: betting on a traitsy player and anticipating that his best football is ahead of him. I just don’t think I agree with that approach.

There’s a lot to like with Odeyingbo, as he’s a massive edge rusher with elite length and good size-adjusted athleticism. He’s produced before, as he had eight sacks in 2023, and he’s still only 25 years old.

That said, I don’t think he’s enough of a finished product to warrant the $16 million a year they’re paying him. His average salary is 20th among all edge rushers. However, among edge rushers last year, he was 55th in PFF pass-rushing grade (150 snaps or more), 93rd in sacks and 44th in pressures.

The Bears are paying $12 million more a year to a player who wasn’t much better last year than DeMarcus Walker, whom they cut this offseason. Odeyingbo is younger and has more upside. But if he didn’t put it all together in his four years of playing NFL football in Indianapolis, I’m not sold he suddenly lives up to his price tag in Year 5.

Slept-on move: Drew Dalman

“But Jacob, how can Drew Dalman be a slept on move”, say the fat losers everywhere. Nay, Dalman has widely been heralded as one of the best centers in the league, and it was a big deal when the Bears signed him.

However, I’d say the surprise of other moves dimmed the spotlight that Dalman’s signing in Chicago deserved. Amidst the Colston Loveland selection, the trade for Thuney, signing Grady Jarrett out of the blue, plus one more move I’ll get to soon, there was a lot that happened in favor of the Bears this offseason.

Dalman was almost everybody’s dream signing in free agency, and getting him almost felt like a foregone conclusion, given the Bears’ need at center and their large amount of cap space to work with. He’s been a top-five center each of the last two seasons.

I’m excited to see what Dalman can provide for the Bears’ offensive line. After years of instability and poor play at center, he should be able to give them the anchor they’ve been looking for.

Surprising move: Luther Burden III

As a Mizzou alumnus, the Bears’ selection of Luther Burden III was a pick I was absolutely stoked about. He’s my favorite college football player of all time, considering my fandom of the team he played for. It just wasn’t a pick I was expecting.

Heading into Round 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Bears still had a few more needs left to fill. There are a few talented running backs and offensive and defensive linemen still available. After taking Loveland in Round 1, I didn’t think they’d take another pass-catching weapon with their next pick.

As TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins both came off the board, I had no idea where the Bears would go with the No. 39 pick. When I heard they selected Burden, I was jumping for joy.

Not only did I not expect the Bears would take a wide receiver that early, but I also didn’t think Burden would fall that far. I had him as my No. 18 overall prospect on my board, and I figured one of the receiver-needy teams like the Browns, Texans or Patriots would have selected him earlier.

Time will tell if that pick (and my reaction) actually ages well. However, I think Burden has WR1 potential if he can further develop his route tree. His explosiveness, agility, YAC creativity, ball skills and contact balance are all very impressive.

Cautiously optimistic: Jonah Jackson

The Bears made the call before the start of free agency to trade for Jonah Jackson, reuniting him with his former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson after he played one season with the Rams. They also made the call to extend him another year, locking him in through 2027.

This was a bold move for Poles, seeing as though Jackson is coming off of an injury-shortened year in 2024. He disappointed in the Rams’ first two games at guard and center, got hurt, played in one game and got benched, then returned to the starting lineup for one more game in Week 18.

Granted, Jackson played at right guard in that Week 18 game — the position he’ll play with the Bears — and he finished with a 91.8 PFF grade on 66 snaps. He was a Pro Bowl guard under Johnson in Detroit, and there’s still plenty of upside to tap into.

I liked the trade for the Bears, seeing as though they only gave up a sixth-round pick to take a shot on him. Adding an extra year to his contract is what gives me pause. However, if Johnson trusts him and knows he can succeed in his system, who am I to question it?

Favorite Day 3 pick: Zah Frazier

I thought about going with Kyle Monangai here, as the former Rutgers running back has the chance to contribute right away as a seventh-round rookie for the Bears. As much as I like that pick, I decided to shake it up and go with Zah Frazier for this last superlative.

Frazier is a big question mark, seeing as though he’s a one-year FBS starter at a Group of 5 school. He was UTSA’s highest-rated recruit as a JUCO transfer, and he lived up to the hype in 2024 with six interceptions and nine pass deflections.

6’3” cornerback with nearly 33-inch arms and 4.3 speed don’t grow on trees. Frazier is a physical specimen with the ball skills from his early days as a wide receiver to make him a serious playmaking threat in the secondary.

Frazier is very raw as a technician, as his route-recognition skills are average, and his hip fluidity and pad level in his backpedal need to be improved. He’ll be a backup for the Bears in 2025, but if he develops properly, he has eventual starting upside in the NFL.