Which players benefited the most from the incoming draft class for the Chicago Bears? Who will be toasting to their future success moving forward? Your Bears Over Beers crew shares their takes!
After the much-anticipated 2025 NFL Draft, rosters around the league are coming more into focus as we inch closer to training camp and the start of the season. Both veteran and undrafted Free Agents will continue to be added, and things will continue to evolve, but here is a look at which Chicago Bears players benefited the most from this incoming draft class.
Caleb Williams, QB
Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images
Bryan Orenchuk: Bias aside, I am not sure any one player in the entire league benefitted more than Caleb Williams has this off-season. After landing a premier play-caller in new head coach Ben Johnson and solidifying the interior of the offensive line, Caleb’s off-season got even better this past weekend.
Bears’ GM Ryan Poles drafted not one, but two elite playmakers for the Bears offense in Tight End Colston Loveland and Wide Receiver Luther Burden III. Not only will these two players open up the playbook while adding dynamic weapons in the passing game for the 2nd year QB, but both players are just 21 years old and figure to be staples in this offense and grow with Caleb Williams for years to come. Oh, and Poles also selected one of the drafts more pro-ready Offensive Tackles in Ozzy Trapilo in the 2nd round as well. Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson have more tools at their disposal than any QB and coach that I can remember in Bears history.
Ryan Droste: My Bears Over Beers co-host said it all here. It’s hard to imagine Caleb Williams having anything other than a stellar second year campaign given the moves the Bears have made in the offseason. Offensive guru head coach, great free agency pickups, and shiny new weapons to utilize via the NFL Draft.
DJ Moore. Rome Odunze. Cole Kmet. Colston Loveland. Luther Burden III. This team will be able to creative mismatches all over the field. The edition of true burner was something the Bears sorely lacked last year, and Burden gives them that. Loveland is a TE with a WR skillset. Williams is going to have so many weapons to get the ball to this season, and he’ll actually have time to do so thanks to the moves made on the O-line. Obviously, this is an exercise in arm chair general management from us, but I mean come on! Things are looking fun.
I can practically hear the drool hitting Ben Johnson’s desk from my house.
Rome Odunze, WR
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Ryan Droste: Odunze didn’t have a bad rookie campaign, but I don’t think there’s any way to deny that we all expected higher numbers from last year’s #9 overall pick. Looking at the way this offense is going to be constructed in 2025, it appears to me that Odunze is poised for a breakout season.
And the picks that Chicago made in the NFL Draft only solidify that opinion for me. I was already expecting Ben Johnson to scheme Odunze into much better situations than Shane Waldron and Thomas Brown did. Now, just look at the personnel who will be added to the rotation. New draft picks Colston Loveland (a TE who plays like a WR) and Luther Burden III (a speedster in the slot) should help open up the field even more for Odunze,
D’Andre Swift, RB
Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images
Bryan Orenchuk: Many expected, myself included, for the Bears to select one of the highly touted Running Backs in this draft class. Leading up to the draft, Vegas odds had Ashton Jeanty most likely landing in Chicago and other backs like TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins and Kaleb Johnson were rumored to either be on their radar or ideal fits for Ben Johnson’s new scheme.
Not only did none of those backs land in Chicago, but Ryan Poles waited all the way to the 7th round to select a RB when he snagged “bull-in-China-shop” back from Rutgers, Kyle Monangai. While I am high on Monangai and think he will add a much needed element to our backfield, he is unlikely to supplant Swift as lead back anytime soon. D’Andre Swift may have received some kind words from his new head coach (and former play caller), but make no mistake about it – Swift must have breathed a huge sigh of relief this weekend when the Bears waited until late day 3 to select a RB.
Roschon Johnson, RB
Talia Sprague-Imagn Images
Ryan Droste: To piggy-back off of Bryan’s take on Swift, I’d also have to look at Johnson. Following the draft, Johnson appears to have solidified his role as the Bears’ number two running back.
This is a bit of a surprise as most had figured the Bears would take a running back in the draft who not only would figure to start the season as the number two player on the depth chart (at minimum), but also quite possibly overtake Swift as the starter. Instead, the Bears selected Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers in the seventh round after seemingly being beaten to the punch on earlier RB selections, causing the Bears to trade back as a response.
Monangai is a talented runner who could possibly overtake Johnson as the number two running back as the 2025 season progresses. However, given the fact that many of us were counting Johnson out of the Bears’ plans in 2025 in a major way, he looks to have at least solidified his role for the time being. If the Bears had been able to select Ashton Jeanty, TreVeyon Henderson, or Kaleb Johnson in the NFL Draft, that would not have been the case.
Austin Booker, DE
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Bryan Orenchuk: After Running Back, the one position that was universally mocked the most by both Bears fans and media pundits was Defensive End. Despite adding Dayo Odeyingbo in Free Agency and signing him to a 3-year $48million contract, Dayo has never been much of a pass rush threat on the Edge, having only accumulated 16.5 sacks in his 4 year career and is more of an early down DL.
While there is a good chance that late 2nd round pick Shemar Turner gets some snaps at DE this season, Booker is primed to operate in a pass-rush specialist role in his second season out of Kansas. After a full off-season in a pro strength and conditioning program and an added year of confidence and experience, the 22-year-old has his table set before him. On the menu? Quarterback. If he can eat early and often in 2025, he has a chance at solidifying his place on the Bears roster for the foreseeable future.
Orenchuk and Droste will be talking about the Bears’ new draft picks this Wednesday night on a new LIVE edition of Bears Over Beers over at our 2nd City Gridiron YouTube Channel! The show will also be available on our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel and at Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms, Make sure to grab your favorite beverage and join them!