
The Chicago Bears have inspired plenty of hope with their hire of head coach Ben Johnson, but the 2025 NFL Draft will mark a key point in their journey back to contention.
The Bears finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, but there is hope on the horizon with Johnson in the fold and Caleb Williams at quarterback.
That being said, there are plenty of areas where the Bears can potentially improve, and this year’s draft will give them three opportunities to pick within the first 42 selections.
Here’s where the Bears will be picking:
Round 1 – 10th overall
Thanks to their strong schedule in the 2024 season, the Bears lost a tiebreaker to three other 5-12 teams, leaving them picking with the No. 10 selection in this year’s draft.
Round 2 – 39th overall
Local
The Bears have two picks in quick succession in the second round, the first of which originally belonged to the Carolina Panthers. The selection was traded to the Bears as part of the blockbuster 2023 deal that sent the No. 1 pick to Carolina in exchange for two first round picks, two second round picks, and wide receiver DJ Moore.
The Panthers used their No. 1 pick on Bryce Young, while the Bears used their No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft on Williams.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The 2025 second-round pick is the final piece of that trade, giving the Bears an extra shot at a potential starter on the second day of the draft.
Round 2 – 41st overall
The Bears also own their own selection in the second round of the draft. The NFL’s tiebreaking procedures for selections shift the Bears up one spot in that round, and another spot in the third round.
Round 3 – 72nd overall
Round 4 – No pick
The Bears traded their fourth round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft.
The Bears used that pick to select defensive lineman Austin Booker out of Kansas.
Round 5 – 149th overall*
Picks in rounds 5-7 were reported by Tankathon.
Round 6 – 197th overall
The Bears originally had the 187th pick in the draft, but it will instead go to the Seattle Seahawks in a deal that landed linebacker Darrell Taylor in Chicago.
The Bears also acquired another sixth-round pick in exchange for wide receiver Chase Claypool in Oct. 2023, but later traded that pick to the Cleveland Browns as part of a deal to bring Chris Williams to Chicago.
Finally, the Bears got a sixth-round pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the March 2024 trade that sent Justin Fields to Pittsburgh.
Round 7 – 235th Overall
This pick was acquired by the Bears in the 2024 trade that sent running back Khalil Herbert to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Round 7 – 242nd Overall
The Bears acquired this pick as part of the Williams trade with Cleveland.
Finally, the Bears’ own pick in the seventh round, No. 226 overall, was traded to the Dolphins as part of the Claypool trade in 2023.