The first-round landscape for the 2025 NFL Draft is beginning to take shape now that this year’s all-star circuit has concluded. The NFL Scouting Combine is up next, followed by 2025 free agency and individual pro days, at which time this year’s mock drafts will really be on point.

For teams like the Chicago Bears, who hold a top-10 pick, NFL mock drafts remain highly valuable even early in draft season. While rankings may shift slightly, the top prospects generally stay the same. Barring a major off-field issue or medical concern, the ten best players rarely change all that much.

Still, surprises can happen, like in the latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft from Pro Football Network. In this shocking simulation, the Bears select Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham, a prospect many consider a surefire top-five pick this April.

“Much will be said about Mason Graham’s athleticism and quick hands giving him significant pass-rushing value as a defensive tackle,” PFN’s Jacob Infante wrote. “That said, I’m an even bigger fan of his pad level, anchor strength, and spatial awareness in run support. He looks the part of an immediate contributor with Pro Bowl potential.”

A significant portion of Bears fans still haven’t forgiven Ryan Poles for passing on Jalen Carter in the 2023 NFL Draft. Instead of selecting Carter, he traded the pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, who took him, and now they’re set to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. The Bears, meanwhile, landed right tackle Darnell Wright — who, to his credit, has been an outstanding starter through two seasons.

If, somehow, Poles figures out a way to land Graham in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, that whole Carter issue might be forgotten.

Will Graham have the kind of massive impact Carter has so far in his career? It’s impossible to say. But there’s no doubt he’s the only interior defender in the 2025 class who has a chance to.

The biggest concern with Graham is his arm length, but the same worries surrounded Aaron Donald when he was coming out in the 2014 NFL Draft. His arms measured a shade over 32.5 inches, which is where I think Graham’s might be, too. If he’s sub-32? Maybe it’s worth giving a half-second pause. But he’s such a powerful and disruptive force that I don’t think an inch of arm length will change his NFL projection all that much.

Mason Graham is a stud. And if he slides to the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, there’s almost no doubt he’ll be their pick. Bears fans just shouldn’t get their hopes up that he’ll fall that far.

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