The Chicago Bears are eagerly awaiting Ozzy Trapilo’s return to their left tackle position for the 2026 NFL season, but predictions are already brewing about them investing in a “rare” talent as his replacement during the 2027 offseason.
Trapilo has stunned the Bears over the past several months with his all-in approach to recovering from the ruptured patellar tendon that he suffered in his knee last January. Despite expectations that he could miss all of 2026, the 24-year-old has already made enough progress to come off the physically unable to perform list and practice again.
That said, the Bears won’t know exactly how successful Trapilo’s recovery went until he steps back into the lineup and gets back on his development track as an NFL left tackle.
Should that not happen to their satisfaction, ESPN’s Jordan Reid predicted a scenario in which they invest in a new tackle — LSU’s Jordan Seaton — in the 2027 NFL draft.
“Ozzy Trapilo has recovered remarkably quickly from a torn patellar tendon, but there will still be questions about how long that injury will linger and his overall upside at left tackle,” Reid wrote in his August 26 mock draft for 2027. “Until we know how well Trapilo will play, left tackle should be viewed as a huge question mark in Chicago.
“Seaton is an easy-moving pass protector who plays with excellent balance. He still needs to work on his hand placement, but his raw tools could eventually make him the top offensive tackle in next year’s class if he performs well against an SEC schedule.”
Jordan Seaton Has Potential to Become Top-10 Pick
Seaton has a big season ahead of him after swapping from Colorado to LSU in one of the college football offseason’s most high-profile transfers, but he has a solid chance to be one of the top offensive tackles off the board next spring if he continues on his path.
According to Pro Football Focus, Seaton graded out as one of the top left tackles in the nation during his 2025 season with the Buffaloes, making full use of his elite athleticism and fluid movement skills to earn the third-best pass-blocking grade (84.8) on true pass sets at the position — which ranked first among all tackles returning to school in 2026.
“Seaton is an undeniably rare talent,” Sports Illustrated’s Zion Trammel wrote about Seaton on August 27. “He is an elite pass protector, perfectly fit for [LSU’s] fast-paced offense that must protect [quarterback] Sam Leavitt. He allowed zero sacks over nine games last season.”
The question with Seaton is his run-blocking prowess, where he graded poorly in 2025. The physical transformation that he has made in the offseason — a reported drop from 330 pounds to below 310 pounds — should help him improve there, but the Bears would need to see him take massive strides in that department to invest a first-rounder in him.
Ozzy Trapilo Could Wipe Away Bears’ Left Tackle Concerns
Reid is not the first analyst to predict that Chicago may try to acquire a new left tackle during the 2027 NFL draft. He won’t be the last member of the national media to pound that drum in the coming months, either — just as analysts did ahead of the 2026 draft.
Trapilo has a golden opportunity to make that discussion entirely moot, though.
Trapilo’s swift recovery progress is nothing short of a marvel for the Bears, especially after general manager Ryan Poles acknowledged early in the offseason that the 2025 second-round pick could potentially miss the entire 2026 campaign. Poles has started singing a different tune this August, saying he could be back “sooner than expected.”
While Trapilo must still do the most important part — resume playing football at a high level — his head-on recovery approach seems to have won him favor in the organization.
“[Trapilo is] another one we’ve talked a lot about, just having a plan in place,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said on August 18. “The best thing for him is ramping him up. Obviously, physically we feel really good about where he’s at — otherwise we wouldn’t have bought him off PUP. Now it’s a race to see how quickly we can rebuild the confidence.”
Depending on how that race is run, left tackle may not remain a question for Chicago.
Chicago Bears Predicted to Replace Ozzy Trapilo With ‘Rare’ Talent