Bears' Ryan Poles Expects 'Weird' 2025 NFL Draft amid Latest Trade Rumors

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles is preparing for a variety of outcomes during the 2025 NFL draft.

"This one is gonna be a little wild but we’re prepared for all the scenarios that will pop up," he told reporters Tuesday.

Poles added that there's a "lot of phone calls going on right now" and a "large pool of very good football players."

Fans can at least rule out one potential blockbuster.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that "the consensus around the league" is the Tennessee Titans will hold onto the No. 1 overall pick. That strengthens the perception they intend to take Miami's Cam Ward, who's widely considered the best quarterback available.

When it comes to Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, teams may not be tripping over themselves to trade up for him, either.

The New Orleans Saints moved up from ninth to sixth in order to land Sanders in Bleacher Report's most recent mock draft. However, NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan said Tuesday, "I think I can safely say that it won't be Shedeur Sanders," in reference to the team's likely choice.

In general, this simply isn't a robust draft class. On Bleacher Report's big board, only six players received an overall grade of 8.5 or higher, which is the cutoff for surefire first-round talent.

The teams near the top of the draft have an incentive to stay where they are because the elite prospects are few and far between. Once you get past the top 10 or so, the value between one player and the next-best option may not be enough to justify a trade up.

"Multiple teams have said the player who will be drafted at No. 10 is the same quality as the player drafted at No. 32," ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday. "It will be about each team's preference, but in the opinion of multiple personnel people, there is not a tremendous amount of difference."

Of course, the opposite is just as true when it comes to hypothetical trades. When a general manager is unlikely to lose much by moving down, he might be more receptive to offers.

Nobody ever knows with 100 percent certainty how the draft will unfold. To Poles' point, this year is particularly tough to read thanks to a few different factors.