FOX 32 Chicago Bears 2025 NFL Draft Big Board: Rising names to know for Round 1.
Once the Super Bowl goes final, it’ll be time for the Chicago Bears’ offseason. Almost immediately, we begin with the pre-draft process.
This includes the NFL Combine, where prospects get the biggest chance possible to lift their NFL Draft stock. Almost always, there are a handful of names that make decisions harder when teams officially get on the clock.
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This will especially be true with the Bears.
Here are the prospects to know before the offseason kicks into gear. Their names could rise up draft boards before you know it.
Top Prospects We Know Already
Will Johnson: OL, LSU
Johnson is the top offensive line prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. Full stop. If the Bears select him, he could play at any position outside of center. That’s what the Bears need.
Kelvin Banks: OL, Texas
Banks is behind Johnson in terms of pre-draft rankings, but he’s no consolation prize. His pass blocking might need some refinement, but he’d be a player the Bears could play right away. Banks, more than most linemen in the draft, has gone up against future NFL talent in Texas’ College Football Playoff run.
AMHERST, MA – OCTOBER 12: Missouri Tigers offensive lineman Armand Membou (79) in action during a college football game between Missouri Tigers and UMass Minutemen on October 12, 2024, at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, MA. (Photo by M. Ant
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2025 NFL Draft Potential Rising Names to Know
The pre-draft process will help draft stocks around the league rise consistently and considerably. The Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl, NFL Combine, Pro Days and pre-draft interviews will do plenty for the following players who could be first-round picks when the dust settles.
Armand Membou: OL, Missouri
Membou wasn’t super high on draft radars before the season. The Mizzou offensive lineman put in a solid 2024 season where he handled some dudes around the SEC who will be high draft picks in this upcoming draft. Expect Membou to be in play for the Bears’ No. 10 overall pick, potentially jumping Banks in the process. Banks may be the better overall run blocker, but Membou might have a higher ceiling as a younger prospect.
Josh Simmons: OT, Ohio State
Simmons is a natural candidate to rise up in the draft process. His torn ACL kept him from putting together a full 2024 season, but he’ll rise back up draft boards with the combine, pro days and draft interviews. Scouting reports say he’s a natural left tackle, which could help his case to go in the top-15. If the Bears selected him at No. 10, it would mean he’s completely healed from his ACL injury, he has no lingering concerns with his knee injury and the Bears are comfortable either moving on from Braxton Jones at left tackle or moving him elsewhere on the offensive line.
James Pearce Jr.: Edge, Tennessee
The Bears need a pass rusher opposite Montez Sweat. It’s safe to assume the likes of Abdul Carter and Mason Graham will be off the board by the time the Bears pick at No. 10 overall. Pearce will most likely be there, though. Pearce is a natural pass rusher who could grow into a premiere pass rushing position opposite Sweat. He’s got explosiveness in his rushing ability that stands out, as well as his ability to make tackles in the run game. At 6-foot-5, 243 pounds, he might need to add more mass but he’ll have the chance to do that in the NFL level.
Tyler Booker: OG, Alabama
As the Bears close in on draft day, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Booker’s name attached to the Bears. It’s unusual to see a guard go this high in the draft, but the Bears need to fill both starting guard positions. Booker is the consensus No. 1 guard prospect in the draft whereas other players are either a guard or a tackle. If Johnson and another prospect high on the Bears’ board went, selecting Booker to anchor the interior of the offensive line for the next handful of years would not be a consolation prize at all.
Donovan Ezeiruaku: EDGE, Boston College
We already have a quick riser.
Ezeiruaku participated in the Senior Bowl, and has already begun popping up in the first round of NFL mock drafts. He hasn’t risen past the likes of Mykel Williams or Pearce, but with a solid combine and pro-day performances, he might hop above those players in their pre-draft rankings. He doesn’t have the explosiveness that Pearce has but he had 16.5 sacks in 2024.
