The 2025 NFL Draft talk around Ozzy Trapilo is starting to look justified as he heads into a pivotal Week 14 showdown with the Packers. DH

The left tackle position was considered one of the Bears top needs heading into the offseason. That mindset has been virtually eliminated with the recent play of Ozzy Trapilo.

The Bears have found their starting offensive line, and it might actually be one of the best units in the entire league. How wild is it that the previous statement has become somewhat of an unquestioned fact over the past couple of weeks?

The interior and right side have played at a high level throughout the entire season (minus discouraging performances over the first two weeks). However, the left tackle spot was somewhat of a weakness along the otherwise stout front five, at least in the passing game. That hasn’t nearly been the case with the recent ascension of second-round selection Ozzy Trapilo, though.

Braxton Jones got the first shot at the starting left tackle job. Unfortunately, he was exposed as a liability far too often over the first four weeks. Former undrafted free agent Theo Benedet got the next crack at the starting job. He held up remarkably well, especially in the running game, an area where he downright bullied opponents. However, he was still (extremely) unrefined in pass protection.

Trapilo’s first opportunity to start came against the Steelers, as Benedet was sidelined with a quad injury. There was legitimate concern over how well he’d hold up on the left side against Pittsburgh’s loaded defensive line, as the team gave up on that experiment (he played primarily on the right side at Boston College) in training camp.

Trapilo not only held his own in the matchup; he dominated it. Nick Herbig came into the game with 6.5 sacks. Trapilo turned him into a complete non-factor.

The performance was good enough to garner conversation about who should start at left tackle. Some wanted to move forward with Trapilo due to his promising start and the fact that the team used a second-round pick on him. Others were worried that removing Benedet from the lineup would limit their success on the ground.

In the end, the Bears went with Trapilo, and it’s safe to say the fear over rushing production was very unwarranted.

The team ran over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles for 281 yards on the ground (good for Philly’s worst single-game performance since 2015), and it was just another day at the office for the big men up front. The Bears now have 1437 rushing yards over the previous eight games since their Bye Week. That’s 532 more rushing yards than the Raiders have had all season, and they spent the sixth overall pick on a running back. I don’t mean to pick on Las Vegas, though. It’s also more than 18 teams(!!) have thus far.

They’ve gotten absolutely ridiculous production from their ground game, and their offensive line deserves much credit for their success. They also deserve their flowers for helping Caleb Williams lower his sack percentage from 10.79% as a rookie to 4.58% through the first 12 games. He has only been sacked 19 times after being taken down 68 times (tied for third-most in NFL history) last season.

The strides they’ve made become even more impressive when you consider that the line was completely revamped in the offseason after years of being one of the most maligned units in the NFL. It looked a lot different last time they played Green Bay.

The Bears’ front office knew the offensive line was a glaring weakness, and they immediately made a concerted effort to change that this offseason. Four new starters were added, and general manager Ryan Poles took the path less traveled in doing so. They shipped a sixth-round pick to the Rams for Jonah Jackson and a fourth-round selection for Joe Thuney before free agency even began. They followed up those additions by breaking the bank on Drew Dalman in free agency.

There was still a question mark at the left tackle position, though, as former starter Braxton Jones suffered a torn Achilles last December. Trapilo has answered that question with an exclamation point.

If Trapilo avoids regression the rest of the year, they will be in a position to return all five starters for the 2026 NFL season. That is an incredible development for a team that experienced so much turnover in that unit in recent years.

There was some early concern regarding the Bears’ 2025 draft class, but it has fallen by the wayside in recent weeks. The team would not be 9-3 without the haul they had, and Trapilo looks every bit like a valuable contributor.