Perhaps the most polarizing prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft is officially on the Chicago Bears radar, and that fact continues to make the team’s process polarizing in itself.
That player I’m referring to is, of course, running back and Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty, who confirmed on Friday that he did in fact meet with the Bears.
“It went great,” Jeanty explained on Friday. “Talking with [running backs] coach [Eric] Bieniemy, just talking football, talking about my life. It was a great meeting and it was great meeting with all of them.”
The reason Jeanty and the Bears’ interest in the top prospect is so polarizing is simple. Positional value. Running backs are traditionally not selected very high in the draft with the recent exceptions being Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson.
Is Jeanty on the level of those two players? Absolutely. And he deserves to be drafted within the Top-10 selections, at least for sure somewhere in the Top-15.
“Obviously there’s a need for a lot of teams at running back,” Jeanty added. “I think it’s been shown this year by the Eagles, by Saquon Barkley, that a great running back can help your team out a lot.”
But, the real question is, should the Bears consider drafting him with the 10th overall pick given all the needs on the roster?
First and foremost, this all depends on the team’s plans and results in free agency. General manager Ryan Poles all but confirmed that the team will be aggressive in filling needs in free agency, which in turn opens up the draft board to more possibilities, especially with the 10th overall pick.
Say the Bears land at least two impact starters on the offensive line plus a starting defensive end, then selecting Jeanty makes sense for the shape of the roster.
Poles also mentioned at the combine the possibility of adding another back to the offense to complement D’Andre Swift and the free agent market isn’t too enticing. Adding someone like Jeanty helps make the offense and run game way more balanced and allows Swift to be utilized in the most-fitting way for his style.
Jeanty has already mentioned the possibility of joining the Bears’ offense and even posted an Instagram story hanging out with quarterback Caleb Williams earlier in the offseason, those don’t mean much right now, but if the interest keeps rising it’s worth mentioning.
As for positional value, the Bears were able to keep assistant general manager Ian Cunningham on the staff despite getting interest for other general manager openings. Why’s that important? Because Cunningham mentioned before the 2023 NFL Draft that selecting a running back Top-10 can be worth it.
Along with that, head coach Ben Johnson is coming from an organization who drafted Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall in 2023 despite already signing David Montgomery prior to the draft.
Even if the Bears elect to pass on Jeanty, or he’s even gone before 10, some team is going to add an exceptional weapon to their entire offense.