Bears Expected To Select Justin Fields’ Former College Teammate In The First Round

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has been hard at work rebuilding the roster around his young franchise quarterback Justin Fields, but the team still has a lot of holes to fill.

One of the biggest is on the offensive line–specifically at offensive tackle.

Most expect Poles to select a tackle with the ninth pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 27, if the Bears don’t trade back again as they did earlier this month when they moved out of the top spot.

More specifically, draft prognosticators for several major publications are tagging one of Fields’ former teammates at Ohio State, Paris Johnson Jr. as the Bears’ eventual first-round pick.

Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson, and The Athletic’s Diante Lee and Nate Tice all have Johnson landing with the Bears. Other possibilities are Georgia’s Broderick Jones and Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski.

Fields and Johnson didn’t spend a ton of time together in Columbus as the former was in his final year of college in 2020 when the latter was a freshman.

However, they both played in the College Football Playoff.

Johnson is expected to be the first offensive lineman selected in the draft, and it would be a surprise if he made it past the Bears.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein doesn’t see Johnson as an elite tackle on the next level, but he does predict he will become a plus-starter in the NFL eventually. However, he warns things could be “a little bumpy early on before he [Johnson] settles in.”

Will Poles still pull the trigger on the decision to select the 6-foot-6, 21-year-old knowing he needs to make protecting Fields a priority in 2023?

Time will tell, but the presence of second-year tackle Braxton Jones might help make the decision a little easier. Jones showed promise at left tackle as a rookie in 2022. If the Bears draft Johnson in 2023, they could play him at right tackle early, or even have him compete with an as-yet signed veteran before hopefully transitioning him to Fields’ blindside when he’s hopefully ready for the assignment.

There is even a chance Jones continues to develop and solidifies himself at left tackle allowing Johnson to remain at right tackle long-term. That might be the best-case scenario for the Bears who would then have two young and talented offensive tackles on the same timeframe as their quarterback.

Things can change between now and draft day, but Johnson is a prospect Bears fans should familiarize themselves with over the next four weeks.