Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my positional rankings for the 2025 NFL Draft at positions of potential interest for the Bears.

These rankings will certainly change between now and the draft the more tape I watch on these players. However, I have enough on these guys for the time being to put together tentative rankings and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

I’ll be starting off with offensive tackles, which is a group I come to love the more tape I watch on this group. I felt pretty good about this year’s class heading into the season, but there are a couple of recent risers who have improved the Day 2 depth that NFL teams will have access to next April.

Here are my current top 15 offensive tackles in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Notable college OTs I project to move inside to guard in the NFL

• Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
• Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
• Earnest Greene III, Georgia
• Fernando Carmona, Arkansas
• Armand Membou, Missouri
• J.C. Davis, Illinois

Tier 1: First-round talents

1. Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas

Banks is shorter for a tackle at 6-foot-4 but has the length to likely avoid getting kicked inside. He’s an agile pass protector with quick feet and great lateral quickness, and he’s a dangerous pull blocker with how quickly he builds up speed and maximizes his strong anchor with a low center of gravity. He blocks with above-average grip strength and plays with a mean streak, as well. I view him as a Day 1 starter and wouldn’t be shocked if he’s a top-10 pick.

2. Will Campbell, LSU

Though Campbell isn’t my current OT1 like he was to start the 2024 season, he’s still quite high on my big board. The 2023 first-team All-SEC lineman has a sturdy anchor that sees him absorb power rushes with ease, and he packs a nice punch at the point of attack. He’s a coordinated blocker on the move with solid overall athleticism. Campbell’s tape is weird because of how upright he is in his stance, but it’s clear he’s a rock-solid player and a likely first-round selection in 2025.

Tier 1.5: Fringe Round 1 picks

3. Emery Jones Jr., LSU

I created a new tier just for Jones since nobody else I’ve scouted really fits this same level. He’s a well-built tackle at 6-foot-6 and 322 pounds with great length who carries his weight well. He has the perfect combination of pure play strength and athleticism at right tackle and saw both his sack numbers and pressure numbers cut in half from 2022 to 2023. I don’t have Jones in Tier 1 because his hands and pad level need to get better. That said, there’s a combination size, length, agility, power and coordination that gives him a higher ceiling than anybody in Tier 2, in my opinion.

Tier 2: Day 2 developmental picks with upside

4. Josh Simmons, Ohio State

With Simmons, you’re getting an experienced college starter with quick feet in pass protection, above-average redirect skills in space, ideal pad level and a high motor. The coordination and mobility are there for him to make the jump and thrive against quicker edge rushers at the NFL level. His hands are a work in progress, as he lunges too often and doesn’t have elite grip strength. That said, I could see him becoming a reliable starter at either tackle spots in the pros with how well he moves.

5. Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota

Ersery is a monster of a man at 6-foot-6 and 337 pounds with 34 1/8-inch arms. His size and length makes him a natural run blocker, as he maximizes his raw size and power with a nasty demeanor and encouraging flashes of lower-half flexibility. Having only started playing football his junior year of high school, the hand placement and awareness isn’t where it needs to be. That said, a powerful specimen with dominant Big Ten tape with sneaky good athleticism will make him an encouraging developmental pick with a high ceiling.

6. Marcus Mbow, Purdue

Mbow has shot up my board in recent weeks. A three-year starter with guard and tackle starting experience, he’s an athletic lineman with great burst in a vacuum and quick feet getting to the edge in vertical pass sets. He displays ideal hand placement and plenty of effort in how he fights for inside leverage, too. With a lower center of gravity and a strong anchor, he could be a long-term starting tackle in the NFL.

7. Cameron Williams, Texas

Another one of the bigger risers up my board, Williams holds his 335 pounds very well and has tremendous length. For someone as big as he is, he’s an impressive athlete with quick feet and fluid hips blocking on the move. He has a strong anchor and has flashed some encouraging hand activity. He’s only a one-year starter who struggles against finesse and flexibility in pass protection, but the upside is there for him to be a real player.

8. Ajani Cornelius, Oregon

I wouldn’t be shocked if Cornelius kicks inside in the NFL, but I have him as a tackle currently. He plays with good pad level and bend in his lower half, his strike placement is consistently good, and he keeps his legs churning well at the point of attack. His physical upside isn’t as high as the linemen above him in this tier, but he seems like a reliable mid-level starter, which is a valuable piece to have in the league.

9. Anthony Belton, NC State

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds, Belton has a large blocking radius due to his long arms and initial burst off the snap that’s better than you’d expect for his size. He keeps a wide base when engaged with defenders, his effort in the run game is exactly what you’d want, and when he gets his pad level right, he’s very tough to beat in a vacuum. Pad level and hand placement are things that give him issues at times on tape, but the potential is there for him to become a decent starter for quite some time.

10. Wyatt Milum, West Virginia

A four-year college starter, Milum is a heavy-handed player with accurate hand placement, solid foot speed and good grip strength in the run game. There’s not much bend in his game, which can provide for uneven weight distribution. However, he’s a good pass protector who should get the chance to start somewhat early in his career.

11. Blake Miller, Clemson

Miller has the size at 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, the lower-half drive as a run blocker and the advanced hand usage needed to maintain ideal leverage in that regard (his snatch-trap technique is impressive). I don’t think he’ll test insanely well based off how he moves on tape, but there’s a high floor with a big tackle who knows how to use his hands.

Tier 3: Day 3 depth options

12. Jack Nelson, Wisconsin

Nelson has inside-outside versatility with nimble movement skills for a guy who’s 6-foot-7; his experience as a three-time letter winner in basketball from high school shows up in how he moves on tape. That quickness and his high motor will see him get drafted, though I want to see him improve his spatial awareness and hand usage before kicking him up to the second tier.

13. Xavier Truss, Georgia

In terms of pure play strength, Truss might be the strongest blocker in this draft class. He’s a bully with a huge frame at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds, and he has starting guard experience, too. Teams that ask their blockers to move well won’t be huge fans of Big Truss, but he could make some waves in a gap scheme.

14. Charles Grant, William & Mary

Grant has elite length with 35 5/8-inch arms and top-notch athleticism, whether it’s in pass protection or serving as a down or reach blocker in the run game. His draft stock can only go so high as an FCS lineman, but his movement skills and ability to lock defenders out from his chest make him a draftable talent with long-term upside.

15. Logan Brown, Kansas

Brown is a former five-star recruit who’s been on my radar as a draft pick for ages, and now as a sixth-year senior, I finally know he can’t escape my board any longer. He moves quite well for an offensive tackle and can roll his hips through contact in the run game. His being older and having inconsistent film the last few years hurt him, but the athletic tools are there.