There is no telling what the Chicago Bears will do with the No. 10 pick in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, but there’s at least a reasonable chance it ends up somehow transforming into a star running back.
Drafting running backs high is much more of a throwback strategy than one employed today, but there are exceptions. One of the most recent came when the Detroit Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick in the 2023 draft. The team traded current Bears starter D’Andre Swift to clear space for Gibbs, and new Chicago head coach Ben Johnson was the offensive coordinator in Detroit when the Lions made those decisions.
Johnson spoke with media members at the owners’ meetings in Florida on Tuesday, April 1, and offered some insight into how he is viewing the current class of rookie running backs.
“There’s a lot of flavors to be had here. Value [on] Day 1, Day 2, all the way through Day 3, and I think there’s going to be a lot of good undrafted prospects as well this year, particularly at that position,” Johnson said, per ChicagoBears.com. “I’ll be curious to hear what [running backs coach] Eric Bieniemy has to say. I’ve seen him in the office a few times now, and he’ll be like, ‘Man, I really like this guy. I really like that guy.’ I know he’s passionate about a few of these guys this year.”
Ashton Jeanty Profiles as Perfect RB in Bears’ New Offensive System
GettyBoise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
Bieniemy’s passion and Johnson’s preference for a two-running back system that isn’t led by Swift don’t combine to guarantee that the Bears will draft a running back. However, the chances appear good based on both men’s offensive preferences and the depth of the 2025 class at the position, not to mention Johnson’s comments on the topic Tuesday.
The better question may not be if Chicago will look to add a running back in this draft, but if the franchise will make a play for Boise State standout Ashton Jeanty.
Johnson is entering his first draft ever as a head coach, one that boasts arguably the best class of running backs in modern league history. Several prominent analysts predict that the Las Vegas Raiders will select Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick. However, if they don’t, he is likely to fall to the Bears at No. 10.
Chicago also has three other picks inside the top 72 and could attempt to trade up to acquire Jeanty, who is potentially a generational prospect. The Bears added three starting offensive linemen and two defensive linemen in free agency, which potentially frees them up to pursue a skill position player like Jeanty in the first round.
However, the class is deep enough that the Bears could look for a cheaper prospect in the early second round or the third round, depending on Johnson’s and Bieniemy’s evaluation of the available options against the team’s other needs.
Bears Also Tied to TE Tyler Warren as Possible 1st-Round Draft Pick
GettyPenn State tight end Tyler Warren.
Multiple draft analysts have also suggested that Chicago might pursue Penn State tight end Tyler Warren with its first pick later this month.
The Lions ran two-tight end sets on nearly one-third of their offensive snaps last season, and pairing Warren with Cole Kmet could allow the Bears to replicate that approach, and potentially achieve the same success.
“He’s done some things where — call it branch routes, out-breakers by No. 3 in the formation — that have been really impressive,” Johnson said of Kmet Tuesday. “But we might try to move him around to different spots: all the way outside the numbers to attached and everywhere in between.”
Warren could go as early as 8th overall to the Carolina Panthers, which might mean the Bears would need to trade up to get in the game for the star tight end who caught over 100 passes and gained more than 1,200 yards receiving with the Nittany Lions in 2024.
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