The Chicago Bears were not among the multiple teams that former Boise State Broncos star and projected top-10 draft pick Ashton Jeanty mentioned as showing more interest in him than other teams. Still, the Bears are expected to be very much in on Jeanty.
However, perhaps due to the presence of starter and former Pro Bowler D’Andre Swift, the Bears are not expected to be overly aggressive to land the 2024 Heisman Trophy runner-up.
ESPN: Bears Expected to Target Former Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty in 2025 NFL Draft
Ashton Jeanty Could Be Missing Piece for Bears HC
“There is one factor, however, that separates Jeanty, according to evaluators. He has a remarkable ability to break tackles and gain yards after contact. In fact, Jeanty had 1,733 rushing yards after contact last season while Hampton — regarded as the No. 2 back in this class — had 1,660 total rushing yards. Jeanty’s total rushing yards after contact are the most by any FBS player in a season over the past five years,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on April 21.
“There are multiple personnel people who believe the Bears are praying that Jeanty slips to them at No. 10. They think new Bears coach Ben Johnson could feature Jeanty and D’Andre Swift as a two-headed duo the way the Lions did with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs when Johnson was Detroit’s offensive coordinator.”
Johnson helped revive Montgomery’s career after the RB left the Bears in free agency in 2023.
In Chicago, Johnson is tasked with getting Swift, who compares more favorably to Gibbs, back on track. Swift is coming off an up-and-down season that featured more of the latter than the Bears likely expected after signing him to a three-year, $24 million contract.
The Bears tallied he eighth-fewest rushing yards as a team in 2024, finishing with the fifth-lowest yards per attempt.
They revamped their offensive line, which should help. Jeanty likely would too.
Ashton Jeanty Revealed Interested Teams Before Sending Strong Message
Jeanty, who set the Broncos’ single-season rushing record in 2024, admittedly broke character. He took to the Players’ Tribune to stump for himself in a move he acknowledged as a change.
“If you pick me, it’s simple: I’m coming to your franchise to do what Saquon [Barkley] and the Eagles just did. I’m coming to win, big, soon,” Jeanty wrote on April 16. “It’s TACKLE football … you know what I’m saying?
“I’d draft the guy they can’t tackle.”
However, the Bears were not among the list of teams Jeanty rattled off as having showed additional interest beyond the standard meetings at the NFL Scouting Combine and in the weeks since.
“Now I have just separate meetings. The Browns’ running back coach wants to talk to me. It’s all separate. Like who wants to – Seahawks. But at the actual [combine], I talked to 20 different teams,” Jeanty said on the “Draft House” podcast on April 14.
Really, the Denver Broncos, they was heavy on me. And the Raiders they was heavy. We was talking the most. Even while all the running backs were doing drills, because I wasn’t competing, they was talking to me the whole time, you know what I’m saying? … I’m supposed to get on the phone with a bunch of different running back coaches. But it’s a lot of teams.”
Draft Experts Weigh Profile Ashton Jeanty
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Jeanty as his RB1 and the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2025 draft class.
“With his low center of gravity and explosiveness, Jeanty has an uncanny ability to stay afloat through contact and be elusive in space,” Brugler wrote on April 9. “He trusts his vision when following his blocks, but instead of predetermining his path, he displays outstanding reactionary reads to sort, cut and create.
“Jeanty displays exceptional contact balance, run instincts and versatility in the passing game, reminiscent of LaDainian Tomlinson. He has the talent to emerge as a high-level running back early in his NFL career.”
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein callend Jeanty an “ultimate yardage creator” regardless of blocking.
“Jeanty plays a position that has become devalued on draft day, but his unique talent and the resurgence of the run game in the NFL should force teams to reconsider that factor when weighing his value,” Zierlein wrote. “The threat of what he can do on the ground should create ideal play-action opportunities for his team, allowing his next play-caller to, say, unburden a young quarterback or any other passer being asked to shoulder too much of the offense.”
“This top-flight running back is capable of becoming the face of an offense in a league where the pendulum might be swinging back to the running game. Jeanty has future All-Pro talent.”
Zierlein noted Jeanty’s heavy workload in college, but that is, again, where Swift can help.