Dustin’s Draft Grades

By Dustin Jones

Pick10- Colston Loveland: A (92/100)

This is an A simply because this was Ben Johnson’s first pick as the Chicago Bears’ head coach. I trust Ben Johnson to know what he needs to unlock this offense, and he chose Loveland over the majority number one tight end in the draft, Tyler Warren. Loveland is going to be a beast in the league that Ben Johnson is going to daydream daily about moving all around his offensive alignments. He will be the number one redzone threat on this team within year. I can’t wait. 

Pick 39-Luther Burden: A++ (100/100)

I projected the Bears to take Burden with this exact pick leading up to the draft. While I did think it was a realistic possibility, I’ll admit, I was also just trying to will this into existence. You know those picks where you’re just hoping with everything inside of you that your team will take a guy in the draft, THEN THEY ACTUALLY DO IT?! Ya, this one is that for me. Burden is a YAC monster, a deep threat, and a guy that can absolutely HOUSE the football every time he touches it. The Bears got the 2nd best receiver in this draft at pick 39, and got Ben Jonson his coveted slot receiver. I’m very excite!

Pick 56- Ozzy Trapilo: B (85/100)

This could turn into an A… and all of my A’s could turn into F’s. Drafts should be given about 3 years before you can fairly assess them, and Ozzy Trapilo should be the poster child for the reasoning why. There is no clear spot for him on this roster as of now, besides backup swing tackle, but he has the traits and size to turn into a damn good tackle on either side of the line of scrimmage. In 3 years we could be looking at this pick as the best pick of this draft for the Bears, or we could be looking at it as a real head scratcher. I have no idea which I think it will be currently, so I’m going with a safe B. I will say however, this would have been an easy A had the Bears drafted Tate Ratledge in this spot. 

Pick 62- Shemar Turner: B (84/100)

I’ve gone back and forth on this pick. On one hand, I would have much preferred safety Andrew Mukuba here. On the other hand, I would have much preferred 3 technique Darius Alexander here. But on my third hand… which I sometimes use to smack some much needed sense back into myself, I really do like this pick. Same simple logic as with the Loveland pick here, this is Dennis Allen’s guy, and he’s looking for dawgs that can play multiple roles. My cohost at Four Stars, Brandon Duplacey, is a big advocate for Turner playing D end as well as 3 technique… maybe he’s onto something? All I know is I love Turner’s size, strength, and attitude. They will all be a welcomed addition to the bears D line rotation. 

Pick 132- Ruben Hypolite: D- (60/100)

This is the one pick of the Bears’ 2025 draft that I just don’t get. The value was not there. This was an absolute reach, and a guy that could have been had by the Bears as an undrafted free agent most likely. The logical counter argument to this position is that the Bears and Dennis Allen obviously like this guy a lot to take him in the fourth round, and they have to have a plan for him that I have no clue on. Still, there were way too many good players at other positions of real need on the board in the fourth for the Bears to spend this pick on a guy that doesn’t even have a stats page on ESPN as of this writing.

Pick 169- Zah Frazier: A- (90/100)

Traits, traits, traits. The 5th round is a good time to bank on traits, and the Bears got some absolutely elite ones in picking Frazier here. 6 INTs and 9 pass break ups in his final collegiate season show that this guy has a knack for getting his hands on the ball, and at 6’3” with a 4.36 40, he is a rare physical specimen at the cornerback position. I fully expect him to be competing for legitimate snaps with Tyrique Stevenson at some point in the upcoming season. There is definitely starter potential here, and it doesn’t hurt that Al Harris vouched for him. 

Pick 195- Luke Newman: B+ (89/100)

In my mind, you can never go wrong drafting an experienced interior O lineman out of the Big 10 this late in the draft. In 417 pass block snaps in his final collegiate season Newman put up a donut in the sacks allowed category, nothing to scoff at. According to reports from the Bears scouting department the Bears loved Newman’s reps at the center position in his private workout. If Dahlman, Thuney, or Jackson go down this season, this could be your new favorite player Chicago. Wish we could clone this kid.

Pick 233- Kyle Monangai- B (88/100)

Another great value pick this late in the draft for Da Bears. Getting a guy who led the Big 10 in rushing in 2023, then beat that rush yards mark in 2024, with your 7th round pick is pretty incredible when you think about it. It definitely shows what a talented group of RBs there really were in this year’s draft. As much as we were down on the Bears throughout this past weekend for not getting in on these RBs early, they were still able to find themselves as beneficiaries of this stacked class with Monangai. I don’t think this guy is your future 3 down back, and it’s not even fair for anyone to have that expectation of him, but a path to a solid role for him on this team is clearly laid out. He’s a hard runner who seems to fall forward for two extra yards every time he’s tackled. He’s as dependable as they come when it comes to ball security, 707 touches without a fumble in college. And while he needs to be coached up on pass blocking, he certainly is willing to stick his hat in there and get dirty. While writing this I actually added a “+” to my grade. Just too lazy to go back and change it, and I wanna know who’s actually reading this. While he is not a game breaker, he is a chain mover. We have Swift to break the big ones, but I’m really warming up to the idea of letting this kid show off his grit in between the tackles. 

Overall Grade: B (86/100)

I literally did the math here guys. The Hypolite pick hurt this draft big time. Had they just taken literally ANYONE of value with pick 132 this draft would have been an easy B+. That being said, this is a hell of a draft overall in my estimation. Ben Johnson got his pass catching, seam stretching, TD grabbing tight end. He also got a freak athlete slot receiver with probably the best game speed of any player in this draft. Pair Loveland and Burden with the players that were already on this roster, and Caleb Williams is happier than a Tesla protestor when their shift is over. Ben ain’t no dummy tho guys. He knows the proverbial bread is buttered in the NFC north in the trenches. After massively improving the starters on the interior of the O line in free agency, the Bears were able to focus on depth, versatility, and major upside with their two picks for the O line in this draft. Trapilo and Newman look to be starters in this league eventually. But, in the meantime, either one can cover multiple starting spots in this upcoming season in case of injury to one of your “prettier” big ugly’s. They weren’t done there on offense. The Bears took a low risk/ high reward shot on a mean runner who will, without a doubt, be the 24/7 obsession of new RBs coach Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy loves beating up on rookie RBs more than Mel Kiper loves standing up for Shedeur Sanders, and he’s at least twice as effective at it. Defensively the Bears added depth/competition in Turner, Frazier, and (sigh) Hypolite. Dennis Allen is certainly looking to add size, strength, speed, attitude, and versatility to his defense with these picks. And while I’m pretty pissed the Bears didn’t  add a safety or an edge rusher in this draft, I’ve got to trust that Dennis Allen knows what he’s doing here. I expect the run defense to be better this season if the players can stay healthy, and I also expect this secondary to be one of the nastiest in the NFL. (Just got a strong sense of deja vu typing those last couple of sentences, and not in a good way). Breathe a sigh of relief Bears fans, your team kinda nailed this draft. Finding strong value and great players with basically 7/8 picks. I’m happy. At least I don’t feel like I just got repeatedly kicked in the balls like I have after so many Bears drafts in my lifetime. Great start to the Ben Johnson era so far.