Based on the proven quality of their tackles and the 2025 draft class, the Chicago Bears have probably finished retooling the offensive line unless they get lucky.
Thirty-five offensive linemen have been taken in the first round of the draft since 2020. Of those, twenty-two of them have been designated as an offensive tackle and started more than one game or played at least 50 snaps (a set of criteria that accidentally excludes Troy Fautanu twice, who has only started one game and has played only 49 snaps).
Of those twenty-two, Darnell Wright ranks 4th in terms of having the lowest blown block rate (per Sports Information Solutions) and 5th in terms of having the lowest total error rate (when penalty rate is added to blown blocks). Rashawn Slater, Penei Sewell, and Tristan Wirfs are the only players who are better. For those who prefer Pro Football Focus, in 2024 Wright would rank 7th. In simple terms, he’s playing in the top third of other first-round picks who earned playing time at tackle. The right side is set.
However, what about the Chicago Bears’ other tackle? How would Braxton Jones compare to this group? He would rank 12th of 23 in terms of blown blocks and total errors for his career and 9th in 2024* according to Pro Football Focus. In other words, had the former Thunderbird been drafted 136 spots earlier, at least one major outlet would have Chicago with two of the top ten tackles drafted in the first round over the last five years. In terms of overall play, his performance has actually been average for a first-round offensive tackle, even if he was drafted in the fifth round.
There has been discussion by some that Chicago should consider replacing Braxton Jones as part of the overhaul of their offensive line, and given the struggles of the Bears over the last several years in keeping their various quarterbacks upright, it’s reasonable to ask whether or not it makes sense to do so–especially with Chicago holding the #10 overall pick in this draft.
How likely is it that Chicago can find a better player, though? Since 2021, at least, both Bleacher Report and NFL.com have used the same scoring system for draft prospects. While not flawless, this does give us a window on the relative strength of this draft class on the offensive line compared to the seventeen previous prospects who a) went in the first round and b) went on to earn a role as a starting tackle.
Besides Will Campbell, who they list as an interior offensive lineman, the highest score for a tackle prospect this year is 7.9 per Bleacher Report (Membou and Simmons) while that same source had the average of the prior five years’ Round 1 tackles rated at 8.3 (and this number is both the median—or true midpoint—and the mean). Meanwhile, NFL.com has a median score of 6.45 and a mean of 6.51, with Membou at 6.49. In other words, the “best” of this class would probably be below average for a first-round pick in other years.
It gets worse if you want to consider actually replacing Braxton Jones. Of the eight first-round players who were better than Braxton Jones according to either SIS or PFF, the average Bleacher Report rating was 8.4 with a minimum of 8.0 (Darnell Wright). All of them were therefore rated more highly than the best member of this class. To be fair, the minimum NFL.com rating was 6.39 (Paris Johnson, jr), so at least there is some overlap with the very top of this draft class. Obviously, these ratings can be wrong. They were obviously wrong about Braxton Jones himself, and they arguably undersold Darnell Wright. However, collectively these scores should serve to indicate just how poorly this particular class of offensive tackles appears to be.
Ultimately, it would take an above-average prospect to compare to the performance Chicago is already getting from its left tackle, and this is a below-average class of tackles. While there is reason to strengthen the depth of the offensive line for the long run and in the event that Jones himself needs time to recover from his own injury, the simple reality is that Chicago’s tackles were already playing at or above the level Poles could likely find with a high-level draft pick this year.