Our Most Important Bears of 2025 continues with Drew Dalman, who Chicago invested in to anchor the offensive line.
The Chicago Bears are gearing up for an exciting 2025 NFL season, which features some new faces within the organization poised to get the franchise back to its winning ways. That starts with the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach, as well as overhauling the interior offensive line, adding pieces on defense and a potenital impactful rookie draft class.
Every day from now right up through training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2025 season. We’ll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to 2025 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
Next up at No. 7 is Drew Dalman, who the Bears invested in to anchor the offensive line and turn their luck around at center.
Background
Position: Center
Age: 26
Experience: 5th season
2025 cap hit: $13.64 million
2024 recap
Dalman took a big step in his development with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, where he had his best season yet -- and it happened at just the right moment with him slated to become a free agent. While Dalman has always been an elite run blocker, he made strides in pass protection, earning the lowest pressure rate of his career (3.7%). Overall, Dalman earned a 78.8 grade from Pro Football Focus, where he graded out as the fourth-best center in 2024. Unfortunately, Dalman only played in nine games. He landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury following a Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and he returned in Week 13, where he played the final six games of the season.
2025 outlook
New Bears head coach Ben Johnson made it clear that he wanted to build from the trenches, which is why the team prioritized the offensive line in a huge way. After trading for All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and guard Jonah Jackson, Chicago wasted no time signing Dalman to a three-year, $42 million contract at the start of free agency. Dalman replaces Coleman Shelton, who started all 17 games in 2024, at a position that's snakebitten the Bears. Protecting second-year quarterback Caleb Williams is the top priority this season, and Dalman will play a key role in Williams' success. Dalman will serve as the quarterback of the offensive line, where he'll help with setting projections and relieving some of the pre-snap burden. Solid communication will be key for Williams and Dalman, and the quarterback-center relationship will be just as important as head coach and quarterback.
Big question: Will Dalman finally be the answer at center?
The Bears have been searching for Olin Kreutz's replacement for the better part of two decades. While Cody Whitehair was a solid center, the position has snakebitten this franchise for some time. After signing Coleman Shelton to a cheap, one-year deal, Chicago invested heavily in the center position with the free-agent signing of Dalman, who was a top-five graded center by PFF. While no one's expecting Dalman to be the next coming of Kreutz, who has a case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, stability would be a big win. Dalman is under contract for the next three seasons, but if he can prove to anchor the interior offensive line, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Bears lock him down to an extension and finally solidify the center position.
30 Most Important Bears of 2025
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Most Important Bears of 2025: Drew Dalman (No. 7)
Category: Football
