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The 2025 NFL Draft has quickly become one of the more bizarre draft cycles in recent league history. The prospect pool is weak in terms of franchise quarterbacks, and the general consensus is that the number of blue-chip prospects is in the single digits. As a result, there hasn't been much -- like, no -- trade buzz in the weeks leading up to April 24.
In fact, if no trades take place between now and the start of the first round, it will mark the first time since 2014 that no first-round picks changed teams before the start of Round 1. But just because a trade doesn't happen before the first round kicks off doesn't mean a trade won't happen once a few picks come off the board. And the Chicago Bears will be a team to watch as Round 1 unfolds.
According to a recent ESPN breakdown of the latest NFL draft buzz and intel , the Bears -- and the 10th overall pick -- are where a flurry of activity could occur. "Keep an eye on the Bears at No. 10 overall; I could see them getting some calls," ESPN's Jordan Reid wrote.
"If the Saints don't take a QB at No. 9, things could get really interesting from that point on. Yes, teams won't be scrambling to trade up compared to previous years, but there could be a surprise depending on which of the top prospects are still left on the board.
" While I'm not convinced Sanders is the type of quarterback prospect who will interest teams enough to mortgage future assets to move up for, the simple fact is that there are plenty of quarterback-starved clubs who may be willing to overpay for Prime Time's son. The Bears should hope that he has a first-round slide; if he does, and as Reid noted, Ryan Poles' phone will ring. But there's another angle here that Chicago Bears fans probably won't love.
The 10th pick doesn't just represent a spot teams might want to trade into; it could also represent the point in the first round that clubs interested in Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren know they have to get in front of. There's a chance the first-round trade activity could be to leapfrog the Bears. "The Bears lurk as an obvious potential home for either prospect, so an interested team might give Carolina (No.
8) or New Orleans (No. 9) a call to leapfrog Chicago," ESPN's Field Yates wrote. "Both the Panthers and Saints might be interested in loading up on picks.
" Now that would be a bummer. But, it's also true. It's become blatantly obvious that if the Bears want Jeanty -- or even Warren -- they can't sit at No.
10 and wait for one of them to fall. Poles will have no choice but to take an aggressive approach to the first round and get ahead of the potential doomsday scenario where another team jumps ahead of him to snag either of the top two playmakers in the class. Fortunately, Chicago is uniquely armed with two early second-round picks.
If they want Jeanty or Warren, there's no doubt they'll have the most ammunition to pull off a first-round trade. It just depends on what grade they have on them, and whether they believe trading up for a running back or tight end is good football business. Subscribe to the BearsTalk Podcast on YouTube and your favorite podcast provider.
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