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Bears second-round rookie center Logan Jones.

The Chicago Bears did more than just take a chance on finding their long-term starting center when they selected Iowa’s Logan Jones in the second round. They also spoiled the Baltimore Ravens‘ plans to replace Tyler Linderbaum.

The Bears unexpectedly found themselves in the market for a new center this offseason after Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman retired at the age of 27 with two years remaining on his three-year, $42 million contract. They quickly found a bridge option, trading a 2027 fifth-rounder to the New England Patriots for Super Bowl starter Garrett Bradbury.

Rather than settle for Bradbury alone, though, the Bears stayed aggressive during the draft and took the first center off the board when they selected Jones at No. 57 overall.

Six picks later, the Los Angeles Chargers took the next one: Florida’s Jake Slaughter.

As it turns out, those picks went against expectations for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, who had been eyeing a potential trade-up for one of them in the third round.

Logan Jones Appealed to Ravens as Immediate Starter

The Ravens surprised their fans when they emerged from the draft without a new center to replace Linderbaum, their former three-time Pro Bowler who left to sign a three-year, $81 million free-agent contract with the Las Vegas Raiders in March.

That was not the original plan for DeCosta’s front office, though.

“There were two centers that we really liked a lot, and it was Logan Jones and Jake Slaughter,” DeCosta said at about the 50-minute mark in April 29’s episode of The Ravens Lounge podcast. “We thought both those guys were really, really outstanding players that could really help us — you know, almost immediately come in and help us.

“We thought there was a pretty darn good chance that we would have gotten one of those guys in the third. And I was sort of prepared to think about potentially going from 80 up a little bit in the third to get one of those guys if they were there. I’d never really contemplated both guys getting picked after we picked Zion [Young] before the start of the third round, didn’t really contemplate that, but I think that the Bears and the Chargers got good players when they did, and it just didn’t work out for us.”

Bears Feel Logan Jones Brings ‘Top-Notch’ Intelligence

While DeCosta’s comments about how highly he thought of Jones might make fans feel even better about the selection, the Bears had conviction when they drafted Jones.

“We felt convicted as a staff, coaching staff and personnel side, that he was our guy,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said of Jones after the end of the draft on April 25.

Jones has drawn some natural comparisons to Linderbaum. Both centers transitioned from defensive linemen in college. Jones also stepped into Linderbaum’s shoes as the Hawkeyes’ starting center when he left for the NFL in 2022 and landed with the Ravens as the 25th overall pick. The Bears did sniff around Linderbaum’s market this spring.

Ultimately, though, Jones’ intelligence is what won over Johnson and the Bears’ staff.

“The mental is top-notch,” Johnson continued. “We saw all the traits that we’re looking for, whether it’s the run game or in pass-pro, and we brought him in for a top 30, and I think that’s when it really solidified it for us that, ‘Yeah, he’s got the makeup.’ The guys at Iowa were raving about him, and then just the next level in terms of the football IQ as well. I think none of us have any qualms that he’ll be able to download the information, and once again, it’s just another spot that we’ll have high-level competition at.”