One 2025 NFL Draft prospect may no longer be a match for the Chicago Bears…
Will Campbell has been the player some Chicago Bears fans have circled as a potential target for the team’s No. 10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
After the Bears added three new offensive linemen over the last couple of weeks, the idea of the Bears taking Campbell in the first round seems to have lost momentum.
Still, if selected, Campbell would slot in as the Bears’ left tackle. It is a logical spot for an upgrade, considering Braxton Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is working his way back from an ankle injury that ended his 2024 season early.
More than that, if you are playing the draft by positional value, you know that left tackles become highly valuable if they hit on rookie contracts and quality left tackles are much harder to find later in the draft than interior linemen.
The Bears are hoping not to pick in the top ten again so taking a cornerstone left tackle when the need is not pressing still makes plenty of sense, the question is much more about whether or not the Bears actually see Campbell as a tackle.
Campbell measured in at the NFL combine and had an arm length below 33”. If we remember back a few years ago, this was a similar debate when the team could have drafted Peter Skoronski over Darnell Wright. A video leaked showing that Ryan Poles valued arm length in his tackles, and as the draft got closer, it became apparent that the Bears had Skoronski lower on their board because they viewed him as a guard due to his arm length.
Will Campbell may not be the fit for the Chicago Bears that he once seemed to be.
To be fair to Campbell, he has 32 ⅝’ arms while Skoronski was at 32 ¼’. Campbell is closer to that 33” threshold, but he does not clear it and his arm length is just as close to Skorosnki as it is to the threshold.
If we know anything about Ryan Poles and how he has drafted tackles, he is not going to view Campbell as a tackle. Other teams may, but the Bears will not. So, while you may hear reports that teams view Campbell as a tackle and a top-ten pick, do not expect that to be Chicago. The odds of the Bears drafting Campbell seem to be low unless Poles moves away from the trend he has established.