The Chicago Bears have made plenty of draft selections in the first two rounds over the last handful of seasons. This is soon to include the three picks they hold in the opening two rounds of the 2025 draft thanks to Ryan Poles’ work in the trade market. Chicago isn’t the only team that has held multiple picks to start drafts in recent memory, but any front office having these assets doesn’t automatically equate to success.
Regardless of whether an organization is in its rebuilding stages or contending for the Lombardi, the margin for error on early draft choices is becoming thinner by the year. For a team trying to build their roster back up, these picks are crucial to build a foundation moving forward. If a franchise is looking to make another deep playoff run, the pressure is on for them knowing that these prospects are cost-effective options to serve as immediate impact pieces.
The projected hit rate on first-round picks in today’s game hovers right around 50%, whereas second-round selections sit at a solid 33%. The numbers don’t lie in the fact that it’s not easy to nail a draft pick, even at the top. Chicago has done a fantastic job in the early going of drafts and a statistic shows how well things have panned out for their premier selections in recent years.
The Chicago Bears have the most first and second-round starters
The Bears have the most starters on their squad that they took in the first or second round of the draft compared to anyone else across the league.
— Taylor Doll (@TayDoll1010xl) February 16, 2025
It certainly helps that the Bears have been rebuilding over the past few seasons, but the fact that this many of their top picks stuck as starters is still impressive for this front office. Chicago has key members on the offensive side of the ball that were taken early in their respective drafts.
Basing it off last year’s team, five offensive players were taken by Chicago in the first two rounds Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, Darnell Wright, and Teven Jenkins. Williams and Odunze will be entering their second seasons in the NFL and Cole Kmet was taken back in 2020 out of Notre Dame as the local kid from Arlington Heights.
The trenches are something that the front office needs to look at in this year’s draft, despite having two starters on this list. Wright went in the first round two years ago and Jenkins was a second-round choice in 2021. It is likely that Jenkins will be playing elsewhere in 2025, so his replacement could come early on in this spring’s draft.
This statistic covers both sides of the ball equally for the Chicago Bears
Just like on the offensive side of the ball, five starters that fit this metric were on the Bears’ defense in 2024. Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Jaquan Brisker, and Gervon Dexter Sr. are a huge reason why the defensive outlook for Chicago in 2025 is so bright.
Dennis Allen has a fantastic young core to work with in his first year as the Bears defensive coordinator and it has the opportunity to grow even more in April. Chicago has young guys that can make an impact right away and that’s not common in the NFL. This offseason is an important one through the draft and free agency for the front office to add to the core they have developing right now.
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