#39: Bears Draft Missouri WR Luther Burden III
Hell. Yes. This will be my favorite pick of this Draft. No questions asked.
Burden is a star. Due primarily to injury, his QB, Brady Cook, regressed in 2025 and Burden's production took a huge hit. His target share dropped from 120 to 81, so it was rather impressive that he still produced 61 grabs and six scores. Following that big drop, Burden slipped a bit in the eyes of draftniks despite his 5-star pedigree and incredible sophomore year production. Murmurs about practice concerns and possible interference from his mom may have impacted his Draft position, too, and the phone call from GM Ryan Poles and Head Coach Ben Johnson hinted to that.
My take? Burden slipping this far was very dumb. Burden is a star. And many Draft evaluators agree, with CBS, NFL.com, and PFN all giving him top-10 overall grades; PFF, Draft Buzz, and Todd McShay all graded him as a first-round pick, and only ESPN had him ranked lower than 39th, where he ended up being selected.
So why do I like him so much? Because he's awesome. Burden looks exactly like D.J. Moore to me. I finally compared their testing scores after Burden became a Bear and I chuckled:
- Height: They're both 6'0".
- Weight: Moore weighed in at 210 whereas Burden weighed in at 206.
- 40 Time: Moore ran 4.42, then Burden ran a 4.42.
- Agility and explosion testing: Burden didn't complete this testing.
But I can guess how that testing would've gone: Burden's explosion and twitchiness jump off the screen. He primarily lived in the slot. Assuming he continues to live there, he's going to get open a ton and punish defenses with the ball in his hands after the catch, just like Moore does at his best. Burden absolutely has got that dawg in him. And he could even end up returning punts.
Plus, he's remarkable value at #39. This is a testament to sticking with your board and taking the best player available, even though WR wasn't the biggest need at this point. Burden is a perfect fit for this roster, a plug-and-play firecracker at a starting spot with immense playmaking ability. Let's. Go.
Grade: A
Bears Trade #41, #72, and #240 to Buffalo for #56, #62, and #109
There are some serious moving pieces here. At first blush, it seemed a little light, but not outrageously so. Obviously #240 is basically worthless whereas #109 is an important addition to the roster, so trading two roster players for three is a good idea. Let's look at the trade using three different pick value charts:
- Jimmy Johnson Chart
- Bears Send: 721 (490 + 230 + 1)
- Bears Get: 700 (340 + 284 + 76)
- NET: BILLS +21 (equivalent to pick #176 (equivalent to last pick in the 5th))
- Chase Stuart Chart
- Bears Send: 18.5 (11 + 7.4 + 0.1)
- Bears Get: 22 (9 + 8.3 + 4.7)
- NET: BEARS +3.5 (equivalent to pick #132 (late-4th))
- Spielberger-Fitzgerald Chart
- Bears Send: 2,184 (1,118 + 833 + 233)
- Bears Get: 2,492 (960 + 909 + 623)
- NET: BEARS +308 (equivalent to pick #203 (mid-6th))
So, it depends where you look. Seeing that the value charts render a close outcome and the Bears get a crack at a third meaningful member of the roster, I'll take it and enjoy this slightly above-average move.
Grade: C+
#56: Bears Draft Boston College OT Ozzy Trapilo
Huh? This one has me scratching my head. I largely eschewed Trapilo in mock drafts for two key reasons: (i) he doesn't appear to have the athletic traits that Poles desires, and (ii) he is, by all accounts, a pure RT.
Trapilo played LT in 2022 and struggled. So, he flipped to the right side and was considerably better over the next two seasons. Does that mean he can't play LT? Probably not, but it does mean that there will be a learning curve. He surely won't be expected to step in at LT to start the 2025 season, which is a tricky proposition for such an experienced, older (23.5) prospect.
His athletic profile ends up being quite good in the aggregate, but that's more because he avoids having athletic flaws instead of having any elite traits, save for his 6'8" height. His arms are much shorter at 33" than those of the OTs that Poles has drafted in RT Darnell Wright (33.75") and OL Kiran Amegadjie (36.1"). Trapilo also has less impressive speed and explosion across the board when compared to Braxton Jones; this is a problem in a zone blocking scheme.
So, once again: huh.
There's no mistaking that the Bears' best offensive line combination in 2025 is as follows:
- LT Braxton Jones
- LG Joe Thuney
- C Drew Dalman
- RG Jonah Jackson
- RT Darnell Wright
This leaves Amegadjie and Trapilo in swing bench roles, likely with Trapilo as the top backup OT and Amegadjie as the top G backup (remember that Amegadjie is allowed to get better, especially another year removed from injury).
Drafting Trapilo puts a lot of pressure on pick #109 to become a dude in light of Minnesota LT Aireontae Ersery going at #48, after #41 and before #56. Surely the Bears were lukewarm on Ersery and, if that's the case, the trade looks better.
This pick appears to say a lot more about the 2026 offensive line. With Amegadjie at #75 in 2024 and now Trapilo at #56 in 2025, there's almost no chance that the Bears entertain paying Jones the $20M+ he figures to command on the open market. But it also raises a big question for 2025: is there really a chance that the Bears flip Wright to LT this year? My goodness, I hope not. This pick will get a failing grade if the Bears truly elect not to bring back anyone in their 2024 spots on the line. If the approach, instead, is to throw Jones, Amegadjie, and Trapilo into a blender to see who emerges...great! That's what smart teams do.
This feels a little high for Trapilo and he's not my favorite guy, but this is a fine choice in the end.
Grade: C-
#62: Bears Draft Texas A&M DT Shemar Turner
Let's start with the plusses. Turner is a true 3-technique DT, an essential position in this defense. He can serve as Grady Jarrett's understudy in 2025 while playing in the rotation alongside Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, and Andrew Billings, then he can push Jarrett to the bench in 2026 if things go well. That's a great plan. Acquiring Turner also likely pushes Chris Williams off of the roster, freeing up some valuable cap space.
Turner has an impressive first step. When he pins his ears back and rushes up the middle, there's a good bit to like. Turner is a good athlete on the inside, having played 2023 at 270 lbs.
But it's impossible to evaluate Turner without considering a few big risks:
- Opportunity Cost. There's an expectation that DE Dayo Odeyingbo will kick inside occasionally on third downs, meaning that the depth chart at DE is much more desperate for a new body than DT. This pick means that the Bears won't take a DE in the top 100 picks. Yikes. No pressure, Austin Booker.
- Attitude. Turner's attitude is simultaneously exciting and concerning. He's intense and the Bears need some edge. On the other hand, he has committed seven personal foul penalties and been ejected from games in the past two years. That doesn't sound like intensity; that sounds like a lack of discipline.
- Injury History. Trapilo has a rod in his foot. Turner had a rod inserted into his foot in January to repair a stress fracture that didn't heal before the 2024 season. And he had shoulder labrum surgery before the 2024 season. Yikes!
There are two other big thoughts for when when evaluating Turner. First, the value isn't great. Turner was routinely mocked about 20 spots lower, so this is a reach for a risky player. Second, and conversely, taking players from Texas A&M is a great path to success. A&M's coaching staff consistently underwhelms when developing players, so there's a good chance that there's untapped potential here.
Much like Trapilo, Turner is going to be compared to South Carolina DT T.J. Sanders, who Buffalo chose at pick #41 that they acquired from the Bears. He'll also be compared to Arkansas DE Landon Jackson, selected at #72 with the other pick that the Bears sent to Buffalo.
Turner is a sensible enough risk, I think, but not at #62; this feels like too rich of a spot for him.
Grade: C-
In the end, Day Two went...fine. The start was miraculous, but things slipped a bit from there. Credit where it's due, though: I'm ecstatic that Poles drafted multiple linemen this year and traded down and got Burden in the 2nd. Wild.
Now, the Bears have two key picks remaining at #109 and #148. Here is my hot list for those spots on Saturday as Poles goes to fill out the Draft class. I actually like some of the RBs more than I like the DEs, but DEs are much more valuable, hence the flavor of this list.
- Georgia DE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
- Crazy athlete who got buried behind Georgia's star-studded cast up front. He's a tremendous athlete with the big frame that Allen wants.
- LSU DE Bradyn Swinson
- Swinson isn't as long as Dennis Allen wants, but the speed and violence is too good to pass up outside of the top-100 picks.
- Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson
- Imagine if Tarik Cohen was a few inches and 30 lbs. bigger. He's undersized, but there's an explosive play waiting to happen here.
- Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo
- Skattebo is slow for an NFL RB. But he's outrageously explosive. I'm not sure what to do with that. But I think he'd be fun!
- Texas DE Barryn Sorrell
- Sorrell is similar to Swinson, only even smaller with slightly less impressive athleticism.
- Kansas RB Devin Neal
- I like Neal a lot. Nothing looks elite, but everything looks good.
- SMU RB Brashard Smith
- Smith is really fast, having recently converted to RB from WR. He's shifty and can make big plays, but he'll never form the long side of a backfield rotation.
- Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
- WHAT??? The Bears actually offer Sanders a decent landing spot at this point, where he'll arrive as a clear backup who needs to practice his way into potential starter elsewhere. The value is here.
- Oklahoma LB Danny Stutsman
- Stutsman is no star, but he's got NFL athleticism. He needs to put things together.
- Penn State S Jaylen Reed
- Reed ran exceptionally well in pre-Draft testing, which allowed his otherwise strong tape to move him into this early Day Three territory. Good for him!
- Ohio State S Lathan Ransom
- Ransom is good. He's not great at anything in particular, but he's good at everything.
- Virginia Tech RB Bhayshul Tuten
- Fast. Crazy fast. Explosive. Crazy explosive. But small.
- Georgia RB Trevor Etienne
- He's a bit undersized, but there's big-play ability here.
- Texas RB Jaydon Blue
- Blue looks really little, but he's very fast and a bit slippery.
- Clemson S R.J. Mickens
- Mickens is a reasonably good athlete who coms with lots of experience and production.
- Utah State WR Jalen Royals
- I love Royals and have loved him throughout the Draft process. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to justify taking another WR high.
- UTSA CB Zah Frazier
- Frazier is extremely and seriously fast. With his rangy frame, he'd be a fund Cover-2 defender.
- Nevada S Kitan Crawford
- Crawford looks like a good player with strong instincts.
- Oklahoma S Billy Bowman Jr.
- Bowman is really small. But he's also really fast and flies around at the back of the defense.
- Kentucky DT Deone Walker
- Walker has really tumbled down the board throughout the Draft process. I think there's still plenty of intrigue here, but it's tough to justify another DT.
- Wisconsin S Hunter Wohler
- Productive for a long time, Wohler's athleticism was stunningly good. Cool!
- South Carolina DE Kyle Kennard
- I'm not sure how Kennard was so productive. He looks stiff. But he might be big enough and plays at a key spot.
- Syracuse DE Fadil Diggs
- Diggs is expected to go really late. He'd be a fine flyer in my eyes.
- Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer
- At some point, Sawyer's immense collegiate production will be enough to overcome his otherworldly small arm length (4th percentile) and wingspan (8th percentile). It's Day Three. We're there. But he's a terrible fit for Allen's defense.
- Ole Miss DE Jared Ivey
- Ivey is big, strong, and long. But my God, his Combine was an abomination. You'll never see an uglier RAS card.
Lots of good prospects here. All of them flawed. Here's what I'd like to see:
#109: Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson (Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo would also be very fun)
#148: Georgia DE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
#233: Nevada S Kitan Crawford
Final thought: Ben Johnson, it's time to produce. The new head man has seen Poles add a ludicrous haul to this offense. Johnson gets to run the show now!
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