Mel Kiper’s Latest Mock Has the Bears Building Exactly Where They Should Be … In The Trenches ...Middle East

With the Super Bowl behind us and the NFL Combine coming this weekend, we’re in full-on NFL Draft mode with the Chicago Bears. That means when Mel Kiper speaks (or writes), we should probably take it into consideration.

While free agency is still on the horizon as well, I don’t think we’ll see the Bears throw around big money unless they can nab Trey Hendrickson on a short-term deal. Even if the Bears do bring in Hendrickson, they still need to have another great draft if they want to make an improvement on their Divisional Round loss to the Rams last season.

The best football teams are built through the draft. If General Manager Ryan Poles and Ben Johson can stack another great draft on top of last year’s home run performance, yielding Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III, and Ozzy Trapilo, among others, we could see Chicago be one of the favorites in the NFC next season.

So, who will the Bears take with the 25th pick in April? Mel Kiper’s latest mock has them going a route a lot of us expect to see Ryan Poles take – building in the defensive trenches.

Mel Kiper Stays Consistent With Bears’ Pick In Latest Mock

For the second straight mock draft, ESPN’s top draft analyst has the Bears bulking up their interior defensive line with Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald. And that pick would make a lot of sense. This draft class has quite a few solid DT options in the first round, and some should still be available when Chicago goes on the clock at 25th overall. For what it’s worth, Kiper has McDonald ranked as his top defensive tackle prospect in the upcoming class. However, players like Clemson’s Peter Woods or Florida’s Caleb Banks could certainly be options in the Bears’ draft slot as well.

Here’s what Kiper had to say about the Bears and McDonald:

It’s probably a little early for Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, Clemson’s T.J. Parker or Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas. The Bears obviously need more edge rush support, but the board just isn’t lining up. But with Gervon Dexter Sr. signed for only one more season and Grady Jarrett turning 33 in April, it would make sense to pad the defensive tackle group. McDonald is actually the DT1 on my Big Board, and he has a nose for the football. He had 17 run stops in 2025. Having him on the interior would be huge for a Bears team that allowed 5.0 yards per carry last season (fourth worst).

While I agree with Kiper’s assessment that the Bears need help stopping the run, I don’t really agree that edge rush support is a bigger need. Montez Sweat is a very good player. Austin Booker finished the year very strongly and got much better as he got healthier and the season went on. While Chicago’s defense absolutely needs to build some more depth on the edge, I think the interior is a bigger immediate need.

Gervon Dexter Sr. had a promising start to his NFL career, but last year he seemed to fall off. Entering a contract year, Dexter’s future with the Bears is far from certain. Grady Jarrett is a nice piece in the middle, but he is getting up there in age, and his health will probably be in question for most of the rest of his career. You can’t rely on him as a full-time starter anymore.

Andrew Billings probably falls into a combination of those two boats. He was outstanding early in his Bears career, but age and ailments have slowed him down. Billings is probably a role player at best on that defensive line if they decide to bring him back. However, he is a free agent and could easily end up elsewhere.

In my opinion, defensive tackle is, by far, the biggest need for Poles as of this writing. Now, certainly, that could change before the draft either via free agency or trade. But as the roster stands now, I think taking the best available among McDonald, Caleb Banks, Peter Woods, or even potentially Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter is probably the correct route to take.

Now, having said all of that, the Bears went more of the best player available route in last year’s draft. Tight end and wide receiver weren’t the team’s biggest needs. But their first two picks were used on Loveland and Burden. No one would argue against those picks after seeing them work out in a big way. So Poles and Johnson may treat this draft in the same manner of drafting based on talent and potential as opposed to immediate need. However, if McDonald, Banks, or Woods are around, I don’t think it would be hard to justify any of them as the best player on the board at #25.

For what it’s worth, in our latest mocks, I had the Bears taking Peter Woods at 25th overall, and Patrick had them selecting McDonald. I have to imagine, as we do every year, we’ll see quite a bit of movement on draft boards from now until Draft Day, but I think those two names, along with Banks, will certainly be in the running.

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