A Bears fan base that clamored for a tackle all offseason finally got one Friday night.
Whether he’s a starting tackle is another question altogether.
After trading back with the Bills, the Bears drafted Boston College tackle Ozzy Trapilo with the 56th pick.
He’s played right tackle the last two seasons. The Bears already have one of those in Darnell Wright, who was their best offensive lineman last year. They could move Wright to left tackle, but Braxton Jones, who’s recovering from ankle surgery and entering the last year of his contract, might be better there in the short term.
And, oh yeah, the Bears have swing tackle Kiran Amegadjie, for whom Poles spent a third-round pick last year. The Bears starting lineup at tackle looks the exact same as last year, provided Jones recovers in time, only with two Day 2 draft picks as backups instead of one.
The Bears were destined for the outcome after three tackles were taken before they picked 10th on Thursday night and two more were drafted before the end of Round 1. The last chance to pick a starting left tackle with high-level experience have passed when the Texans took Aireontae Ersery, the reigning Big Ten offensive lineman of the year, nine picks after the Bears surprised many around the league by taking Missouri receiver Luther Burden.
General manager Ryan Poles could have taken Ersery with the No. 41 overall pick but decided to trade that selection to the Bills to give the Bears, for the first time in franchise history, three second-round picks in one draft. In exchange for moving down 15 spots from No. 41 to No. 56, the Bears moved up from Pick 72 in Round 3 to Pick 62 in Round 2 and, on Saturday, from Pick 240 in Round 7 to Pick 109 in Round 4.
The Bears didn’t their own fourth-round pick this year because of last year’s trade for little-used defensive end Austin Booker. Even if they use the seventh pick in Round 4 on a much-needed running back, it won’t mask a problem they could have fixed either Thursday or Friday — finding a long-term replacement for Jones.
The 6-8 Trapilo is a compelling story. His father Steve was also a Boston College offensive lineman who was drafted — he spent five years in the NFL after becoming the Saints’ fourth-round pick. He died of a heart of attack when Ozzy was 3. Trapilo doesn’t have many memories of his dad. He can only go by the word of his mom and family friends.
“A lot of people, especially as I’ve gotten older say I’m very similar to him the way we walk, the way we laugh, stuff like that,” he said. “So just hearing stuff like that is very cool for me. I know it’s cool for my family. They all are enjoying this process. They’re super stoked.”
Poles should know Trapilo as well as any player in the draft, too — he was also a Boston College offensive lineman. Player personnel director Trey Koziol pointed to Trapilo’s consistency, saying he could play either right or left tackle.
“We talk about smart, tough and dependable — I think he embodies all those three things,” he said. “And for a big man who moves well, he’s a very smart football player. He’s very technically sound. And I think the dependability piece, especially in the offensive line room can’t be overrated.”
Poles needs to hope that this draft isn’t a repeat of his first one.
In 2022, the Bears fan base clamored for a wide receiver throughout free agency and entering the draft. What they got instead was Velus Jones, a third-round pick who was the 14th receiver drafted.
This year, Bears fans clamored for a tackle in free agency and in the draft. What they got was Trapilo, the eighth tackle in the draft.
A second-round pick has expectations that a third-round dart throw doesn’t. Those are likely to grow.
