Daniel Jeremiah Maps Out Winning 2025 Draft Blueprint for Bears — OT or Bust at No. 10?

The countdown to the 2025 NFL Draft is in its final days, which means NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah held his annual conference call to address the most pressing questions from reporters across the league.

And there was no shortage of Chicago Bears intel.

Jeremiah opined about the "fantastic position" the Bears are in this year with four of the top 72 picks (Nos. 10, 39, 41, and 72), and said they should land "four instant-impact players" as a result.

And when it came to what GM Ryan Poles should do at No. 10 overall? Jeremiah didn't mince his words.

"In terms of positions that you probably don’t want to wait on, if you are dead set on getting an offensive tackle and you want to get your long-term left tackle, you’re going to want to do that with your first pick," he said. "I just don’t love the possibilities of you seeing someone that’s going to be an upgrade over what you have once you get into the second round of this particular draft."

It's an opinion that's undoubtedly shared inside Halas Hall, and one that will likely turn into reality in the first round, assuming running back Ashton Jeanty is selected before the Bears are on the clock with the 10th pick.

Jeanty's ascent up the first 10 picks has been very real in recent days, and it now feels like his floor is the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 overall. And while the Bears have plenty of ammunition to trade up for Jeanty if they feel like he is their 'must-have' first-round target, it would go against what we've come to learn about Poles' approach to the NFL Draft.

With a focus on premium positions and a propensity to trade down, a Bears' move up the first-round order would be shocking. Indeed, Poles had to be restrained from trading up for Rome Odunze in 2024. Perhaps he'll have an itchy trigger finger again in 2025. But his patience paid off last April, and it's a lesson he's likely to lean on once again this year.

And that's why all roads point back to the Chicago Bears taking an offensive tackle at No. 10 overall. As Jeremiah noted, the drop off in talent at offensive tackle from the first round to the second and third rounds is steep, and it's a risk a GM like Poles won't take.