The Chicago Bears head into the 2025 off-season with more concerns about their coaching staff than their roster. While the team isn’t yet ready for a championship, it’s easier to see where they need improvement. Anyone with common sense would agree that it starts in the trenches, particularly on the offensive side.
There’s a good chance that the Bears could have at least three new starters on the offensive line by next May. Fortunately, they have three picks in the first two rounds, which gives them a great chance to add a player who could make an immediate impact.
However, there is one issue. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reached out to an NFL general manager to discuss the upcoming draft class. One thing was made clear: The Bears should not expect to find a center in this year’s draft.
“There isn’t a center in this year’s draft class as talented as Frazier, who came out of West Virginia. Georgia’s Jared Wilson, if he enters the draft, might be the best of the group, but it’s a tough position to scout because NFL offenses require more from the position than colleges,” the GM said.
“It starts with the communication stuff. In college, you’ve got all this nonsense where they put Mickey Mouse and other stuff on a poster board and hold it up on the sideline to call the plays.
Finding the brain — a player that can handle everything presnap — is probably the hardest part because it is such an unknown. There isn’t a center in this year’s group that is even close to Frazier.”
The Chicago Bears will need to make sure their scouting reports are solid. They won’t find a center in this draft who is ready to start right away. This means they may need to focus on improving guard and tackle positions instead. Ryan Poles, assuming he remains the GM, may have to look for a solution in the veteran market.
Coleman Shelton is a free agent, and Doug Kramer is not ready to be a starter. Fortunately, there should be some good options in free agency, such as Ryan Kelly from the Colts, Drew Dalman from the Falcons, and Josh Meyers from the Packers.
Any of these players could help provide stability at center, a position the Bears have struggled with for a long time. Over the past decade, the Bears have had at least five different centers, and their best one, Cody Whitehair, was not even drafted to play center.
This doesn’t seem like the year to find the next Olin Kreutz or Jay Hilgenberg. If the Bears do decide to draft a center, they will have to hope that he can develop into more than he was in college.
