One can never have their fill of NFL mock drafts.
But at some point, we have to put the mocks to bed and, y’know, draft.
We’re not there yet. But we’re getting close. How do we know?
Because we’re beginning to see some agreement.
NFL Draft Confluence? Whoda Thunk It.
The first round of the NFL Draft is one of the most volatile events on the sports calendar—with its relatively equal talent level up and down the board, next Thursday could be a historically wacky-cuckoo-nutty evening—but a semblance of consensus seems to be emerging, so your favorite pundit’s top ten will likely look a little something like this:
1) Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward, QB, Miami
2) Cleveland Browns
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
3) New York Giants
Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
4) New England Patriots
Will Campbell, OT, LSU
5) Jacksonville Jaguars
Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
6) Los Angeles Raiders
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
7) New York Jets
Armand Membau, OT, Missouri
8) Carolina Panthers
Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
9) New Orleans Saints
Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Which brings us to the ten-spot.
Which brings us to the Chicago Bears.
Which brings us to more consensus.
With the 10th Pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears Select…
Early on in the mock draft process, we pundits were sending a wide variety of talent to Chicago, everybody from Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, to Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, to Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart, to Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr.
Over the last several weeks, however, Jeanty has risen up many a draft board, while Banks, Stewart, Conerly are trending down, which is why analysts galore believe that on his draft card, Bears GM Ryan Poles will write the name Tyler Warren.
The Experts Speak
New head coach/offensive firebrand Ben Johnson—who used Sam LaPorta to great effect when he was dialing up plays in Detroit—will very much be on board with landing the draft’s consensus top tight end.
Yeah, Warren isn’t Brock Bowers…but he might be Zach Ertz, a comp with which both Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams will be perfectly happy.
In his impressively exhaustive top-to-bottom mock, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler is one of the many who have Warren decamping in Chicago, explaining, “This is a pairing that grew on me the more and more I considered it. Ben Johnson runs a decent amount of ‘12’ personnel… Warren can be for Chicago what Sam LaPorta was to Detroit the last two seasons.”
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates, in their two-headed monster of a mock, are also on the Warren bandwagon, saying, “New coach Ben Johnson would love having Warren in his offense. At 6-foot-6, Warren lines up just about anywhere, will consistently be a mismatch for defenders and can catch everything thrown in his neighborhood. The Bears focused on improving their offensive line in free agency, and now they can get Caleb Williams an elite playmaker.”
Finally, Bears on SI’s Alan Goldsher—a true expert amongst experts—was ahead of the curve on Warren-to-Chicago, writing way back in March, “[B]ringing Kelce Lite into Chicago—especially when incumbent starter Cole Kmet is infinitely meh—wouldn’t be a bad thing. The fact that since 2000, only five tight ends have been selected in the NFL Draft’s top ten—Kyle Pitts (2021, fourth pick), T.J. Hockenson (2019, eighth pick), Eric Ebron (2014, tenth pick), Vernon Davis (2002, sixth pick), and Kellen Winslow II (2004, sixth pick)—might give Poles pause, but tight end-loving head coach Ben Johnson could attempt to convince Poles that the position is worthy of a day one selection.”
This begs the question, since everybody and their mother seems to expect we’ll see Warren in the Windy City, should we call it a wrap on mock drafts?
