The Chicago Bears welcomed some new offensive playmakers to the roster during the 2025 NFL draft. But one of the biggest surprises is that they didn’t land a running back until the seventh round.
The Bears were said to be high on Ashton Jeanty, who went to the Las Vegas Raiders at sixth overall, so much so that many wondered if Chicago would attempt to trade up to land the Heisman runner-up. In the end, the Bears stayed put, selecting tight end Colston Loveland, and opted to test the remainder of the running back market. And it sounds like they were interested in trying to trade up to land one.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, some league insiders believe the Bears attempted to trade up early in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft — and it sounds like 35th overall was the target, perhaps for running back TreVeyon Henderson.
Some inside the league believe the Bears tried to make an early Day 2 move, possibly to move up four spots to Tennessee’s selection at No. 35. Knowing Chicago’s legwork on running backs, Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson would have made a lot of sense in that regard.
This lines up with Dan Wiederer’s report that Chicago made “aggressive attempts” to try and trade up for Henderson, who was selected by the New England Patriots just one spot before the Bears at 38th overall. Chicago did land a nice consolation prize in the form of Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III, who could very well line up in the backfield at times in Ben Johnson’s offense.
Fowler also noted that, while the Bears have been linked to several free-agent running backs, the expectation is seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai will get an opportunity to showcase his talents in rookie minicamp this weekend.
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