The Chicago Bears have the No. 10 pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, which starts Thursday night. Barring a trade, it will be the ninth time in the team’s history that its first pick was in that spot.

Yet half of the players previously chosen with that selection never played for the Bears. Two of them never even played in the NFL.

Here’s a look back at the mostly obscure names who were once the Bears’ best hopes for a winning season.

Dec. 11, 1937: Joe Gray

Joe Gray, halfback at Oregon State, was the first Beaver ever selected in the first round of the NFL draft. The Chicago Bears chose Gray with the No. 10 pick overall in the 1938 NFL draft. (Chicago Tribune archive)

How unimpressed was the Tribune with the Bears’ first-round pick in 1938? The newspaper didn’t even name him.

“The Bears, western division champions who had the highest season average in the league and therefore got last choice, did not select a widely publicized player,” the paper wrote.

The “Gray Ghost” played both offense, defense and punted for Oregon State, then participated in a scoreless East-West Shrine Bowl. But Gray, who hadn’t traveled east of Nebraska until he participated in the 1938 College All-Star Game at Soldier Field, didn’t sign a contract with the Bears. A knee injury ended his playing days.

He served in the U.S. Army and earned a Bronze Star, then had a long career with the Oregon Agriculture Department. Gray died in 1999.

Dec. 22, 1941: Frankie Albert

The Chicago-born, left-handed Stanford quarterback starred as himself in the 1942 film “The Spirit of Stanford” and led his undefeated team to a 21-13 victory over Nebraska in the 1941 Rose Bowl. The All-American Albert was drafted by the Bears just two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite being the first college T-formation QB, Albert didn’t sign with the Bears. He chose the U.S. Navy instead.

After World War II, Albert was selected by San Francisco in the 1946 All-America Football Conference draft. He remained with the team as a scout, then became its head coach. Albert died in 2002.

Dec. 19, 1947: Max Bumgardner

Two months after he was drafted, the Texas end signed with the Bears. Bumgardner, however, was traded to the Detroit Lions in September 1948 in exchange for a 1949 draft pick. He played just one season in the NFL.

Jan. 22, 1950: Fred Morrison

Ohio State fullback Fred “Curly” Morrison, right, is welcomed to the Chicago Bears by head coach George Halas. Morrison signed his contract during a luncheon on March 24, 1950. (Chicago Tribune archive)

Unlike his predecessors at the No. 10 spot, Morrison signed with the Bears and played four seasons with the team.

During his senior year at Ohio State, “Curly” led the Big Ten in scoring with 33 points. The fullback was named Player of the Game in the Buckeyes’ first-ever Rose Bowl victory — a 17-14 win over previously undefeated California on Jan. 2, 1950. He was also part of the College All-Stars who defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 17-7 on Aug. 11, 1950.

In 1950, Morrison had the best punting average in the NFL at 43.3. He also led the NFL in punts blocked during the 1953 season.

Morrison was more successful with the Cleveland Browns, where he was part of back-to-back NFL Championship teams in 1954 and 1955. He also had the best rushing average in the league during the 1955 season and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1956.

Jan. 18, 1951: Billy Stone

Chicago Bears halfbacks Billy Stone, left, and John Hoffman, right, huddle with former star “Bullet” Bill Osmanski during a luncheon in Chicago on Nov. 18, 1953, at Sherman House Hotel. (Chicago Tribune)

The World War II veteran was drafted by two Chicago teams. Stone was selected in the 12th round of the 1949 NFL draft by the Cardinals, but ultimately signed with the All-America Football Conference’s Baltimore Colts. He was named Rookie of the Year in the AAFC for the 1950 season. After the Colts folded, Stone and 64 of his teammates participated in the 1951 NFL draft. He was the first Illinois-born pick by the Bears at No. 10.

Stone, who lettered in track, football and baseball at Bradley University, scored 31 touchdowns during his four seasons as halfback with the Bears. Before the 1954 season, he served as recreation director for the state’s penal institutions, “showing Bear movies to the prisoners, lectures at the institutions, and assists the individual prison recreation directors,” the Tribune reported.

Stone returned to Bradley in 1955 to coach its football team. When the sport was dropped for financial reasons, he became the school’s assistant athletic director and golf coach. A service award at Bradley is named in his honor.

Nov. 28, 1955: Menan Schriewer

The 6-2, 220-pound tight end and defensive end for the Texas Longhorns finished his college career in the East-West Shrine Game. The Bears made him the No. 10 pick in the first round of the 1956 draft, but Schriewer rebuked George Halas in favor of the Canadian Football League.

“I was making so much money I didn’t know what to do with it,” he said. Schriewer retired from football at 29.

March 14, 1967: Loyd Phillips

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Jim Dooley, left, chats with rookie defensive end Loyd Phillips during team workouts at Soldier Field on June 19, 1967. (Phil Mascione/Chicago Tribune)

During the first combined NFL and American Football League draft, the Bears were tempted to trade their first-round pick. But no offer for Phillips, the two-time All-American Arkansas defensive end, lived up to the team’s liking.

Phillips, however, may have preferred a trade. He said this about Chicago: “I went there once and I didn’t like it. I’d give anything if they hadn’t drafted me.”

After Phillips signed his contract in April 1967, Halas said the Texas native was “pleased to be the Bears’ No. 1 choice.”

But an injury that turned out to be a blood clot limited the defensive end to seven games during his rookie season. A sore leg forced Phillips to end his NFL career after three seasons. He had four sacks in 32 games played for the Bears.

Phillips returned to Arkansas to complete his degree in health education and then earned a master’s in administration. He served as an assistant principal and administrator in secondary education for almost 40 years. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

April 25, 2023: Darnell Wright

Chicago Bears draft pick Darnell Wright displays his jersey at Halas Hall on April 28, 2023, in Lake Forest. The offensive tackle from Tennessee was picked No. 10 in the first round by the Bears. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

The 6-foot-5, 333-pound Tennessee offensive tackle was at a party with family, coaches and friends at a Knoxville, Tenn., Hyatt when the Bears called to let him know they were taking him with the No. 10 pick.

On a video call with Chicago reporters a short time later, Wright said his head was “racing 1,000 mph.”

Before the Bears took Wright, general manager Ryan Poles traded back one spot with the Philadelphia Eagles, who selected Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter at No. 9. The Bears gained a 2024 fourth-round pick in the deal.

Wright started all 17 games for the Bears during the 2023 season and was named to the Pro Football Writers of America’s 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team. He started 16 games during the 2024 season, missing one because of knee issues.

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