NFL Draft: Bears take Iowa center Logan Jones No. 57

Less than two months after starting center Drew Dalman abruptly announced his retirement, the Bears used their first of two second-round picks on his long-term replacement, drafting Iowa’s Logan Jones with the No. 57 pick.

Jones won the Rimington Trophy last year, which is given to the best center in college football.

When Dalman retired, the Bears quickly pivoted and traded a 2027 fifth-round pick for the Patriots’ Garrett Bradbury. He’s entering the final year of his contract, though, and the Bears couldn’t pass on the chance to add a player from one of the premier offensive lineman development programs in America. Bradbury and the 6-foot-2, 299-pound Jones figure to compete for the starting center job during training camp.

“It’s adding competition to the room,” player personnel director Trey Koziol said.

Bears coach Ben Johnson “likes to put a lot on the center’s plate, which is awesome,” Jones said. Jones visited Halas Hall as part of a pre-draft visit.

“Playing center, it’s your job to get everybody into order and know what they’re doing,” he said. “Whether it be a combo [block], a pass-pro[tection], whatever it might be — they put a lot on the center. It’s definitely going to be challenging. But I look forward to it. It’s definitely going to be a lot of fun, for sure.”

Koziol said the Bears liked Jones’ “mental stamina” as well as his intensity and physicality.

The Council Bluffs -born center was a team captain last year. He won state tiles in the shot put and discus in high school and went to Iowa as a defensive lineman. He moved to center and took over for Tyler Linderbaum, who was drafted by the Ravens and was just made the richest center in NFL history by the Raiders.

As part of a promotion, Jones will receive a lifetime’s worth of ketchup from Kraft-Heinz because he was the No. 57 pick.

The Bears entered Friday night with three Day 2 picks, starting with No. 57 overall. They used their first-round pick, No. 25, on Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman on Thursday night.

The Bears still have needs at edge rusher, defensive tackle, cornerback, offensive tackle and even wide receiver.