ESPN NFL Mock Draft Has Bears Targeting a Georgia Defender

The 2025 NFL Draft is 293 days away.

And while you’d think mock draft season isn’t around the corner, the draft content creation team at ESPN doesn’t sleep. I suppose we probably shouldn’t either. After all, the Chiccago Bears do have an extra second-round pick coming their way next year thanks to the Carolina Panthers. But still … it is way too early to start thinking about how Chicago’s football team could use that pick.

Nevertheless, I found myself Matt Miller’s early 2025 NFL mock draft. The ESPN analyst has the Bears selecting Mykel Williams, an edge defender from the University of Georgia. Here is Miller’s reasoning behind his pick for Chicago:

General manager Ryan Poles has done a masterful job rebuilding the roster in Chicago, but the defensive line could use someone such as Williams. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound junior has experience playing both inside and outside alignments, but his future is off the edge in the pros. His nine sacks in two seasons of rotational work point to the impact he can make with full-time reps in 2024. Williams’ combination of power and a sudden first-step could get him drafted in the top 10.

For me, summertime mock drafts are less about predicting the future and more about an educational exercise in learning the names of top prospects who could be available in the upcoming draft. As far as I’m concerned, there is no bad time to get familiar with names of players who could be future Bears.

It is never too early to look at a Bears mock draft

On the one hand, it is too darn early to dig deep into a mock draft. After all, I am still analyzing the NFL Draft that just happened in April. Heck, there have been moments this offseason where I’ve found myself dissecting the 2022 and 2023 drafts from Bears General Manager Ryan Poles. But on the other hand, it is never too early to acknowledge the obvious. And that is what Matt Miller does in this mock draft exercise.

The Chicago Bears need help along the defensive line. And it is crystal clear that defensive end will be high on the team’s offseason wishlist. Whether it comes via trade, free agency, or the draft, the Bears front office would be wise to address the position with an impact player. Perhaps Georgia’s Mykel Williams is the type of player who could provide that type of presence.

Williams, 20, checks in at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds over at Georgia’s official team website. A second-team All-SEC selection in 2023, Williams collected a team-leading 4.5 sacks and added 6.5 tackles-for-loss. Those numbers aren’t necessarily eye-popping. But if Mykel Williams can build on his 2023 season in 2024, then we’ll likely see the Bulldogs standout defensive lineman cement his place as a projected first-round pick.

As for other potential Bears targets, here are eight other possibilities based on where the team projects to pick and what positions of need could be when the 2025 NFL Draft rolls around:

While it might be too soon to deep dive on the 2025 NFL Draft, I am already targeting offensive and defensive linemen for our 2025 wish list. I fully expect mock drafts this season to connect the Bears with players in the trenches. And why wouldn’t they? Remember what Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus said before the 2024 NFL Draft? If you don’t, then here is a refresher (bold emphasis mine):

To be able to really take the best player that we feel fits for us in that spot. … It’s an exciting time because we’re going to look at who’s the best tackle, who’s the best receiver, who’s the best rusher, who’s the best this or that.

It’s all, to me, about always effecting the quarterback or helping the quarterback.

From an organizational philsophy standpoint, the Bears have made it clear with their moves that they are prioritizing players who can raise a quarterback’s level of play on offense and disrupt it on defense. I think every mock draft from now until the Ryan Poles regime is no longer in power should reflect this line of thinking.

In the end, between the team’s needs along the defensive line and possible holes that will need plugging in the trenches on the offensive side of the ball, I expect DEs, DTs, Gs, and OTs to be a priority for this front office.