Amid college pro day season, the Chicago Bears may have caught some luck as they continue making plans for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
According to Fox Sports insider Jordan Schultz, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan — one of the top prospects in the class — showed off impressive speed in Arizona on Monday during his pro day, “where scouts in attendance clocked him at a 4.48 40-yard dash.”
McMillan’s unofficial time will help dispel rumors that he lacks top-end speed after he declined to participate in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine earlier this month. Some believed he would run closer to 4.6 seconds given his 6-foot-4, 219-pound frame, but his strong showing at his pro day could make him a lock as a top-10 overall selection.
And if McMillan does go in the top 10, the Bears would stand to gain tremendously.
“This is actually great news for the Bears,” Windy City Gridiron’s Bill Zimmerman wrote Monday on X in response to McMillan’s reported time. “This should secure [McMillan] in the top 10 (Panthers at 8 is my guess) and opens the door for more talent from positions of need for Chicago to potentially be pushed down to 10.”
Bears Could Play Waiting Game at No. 10 on Draft Night
The Bears are in a familiar situation with the No. 10 pick in the first round of the draft and know they must prepare to play an anxious waiting game before their turn comes.
During the next month, the Bears will identify their blue-chip prospects in the class and start to rank them in terms of priority for the 10th overall selection, but they are also at the mercy of the nine teams picking before them, who could target their favorite talents.
That’s why the Bears should be rooting for as many quarterbacks and wide receivers — like McMillan — to come off the board before they are on the clock. More focus on those positions increases the chances of a defensive jewel (like Michigan’s Mason Graham) or even superstar running back prospect Ashton Jeanty falling into their hands at No. 10.
The same logic could also apply to the offensive linemen. The Bears will have quality options available at No. 10 even if teams draft multiple offensive linemen before them, but skills players such as Jeanty and McMillan going in the top 10 would give Chicago a legitimate chance to land their top guy without a move to help starter Caleb Williams.
Will Bears Explore Trades to Move Up in 1st Round?
The Bears may find through their scouting efforts that staying put at No. 10 overall is the best course of action and will allow them to land one of their top-rated prospects.
If not, though, don’t rule out the possibility of the Bears trading up in the order.
The Bears hold three of the first 41 picks in the 2025 draft, including Nos. 39 and 41 overall in the second round. While they could use each one of them to acquire a new high-level player for their roster, they could also package one of their second-rounders with the No. 10 overall selection to climb higher on the board and land a blue chip.
For example, if the first two picks are quarterbacks and the third team in line (the New York Giants, currently) would rather slide back in the round, the Bears could offer them a package and move up to select Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter — who is viewed as the top defensive talent and one of the top overall prospects in the 2025 class.
A desperation to land Jeanty could also prompt Chicago to work the phones for a trade. The Las Vegas Raiders have both the need and position to land Jeanty at No. 6, but the Bears could trade up with the Jacksonville Jaguars and leap past them for him at No. 5.
While nothing came of it, the Bears did try to move up in 2024 when they started to fear that Rome Odunze would not make it to them at No. 9 overall; though assistant general manager Ian Cunningham talked general manager Ryan Poles out of making a deal.
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