Chicago Bears 2026

[Dan]

Welcome to the Chicago Bears thread

Bears draft picks
S Dillon Thieneman (1st Round, 25th Pick)
C Logan Jones (2nd Round, 57th Pick)
TE Sam Roush (3rd Round, 69th Pick)
WR Zavion Thomas (3rd Round, 89th Pick)
CB Malik Muhammad (4th Round, 124th Pick)
LB Keyshaun Elliott (5th Round, 166th Pick)
DT Jordan van den Berg (6th Round, 213rd Pick)

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Overall, I like the Bears’ draft. I know that is seemingly an unpopular opinion, but they picked up some very nice pieces. Yes, they probably need to bring in a veteran or two on DL, I think the defensive speed Bears added through the draft and free agent signings will allow DA to expand defensive sets that will help.

Two things that drive me nuts in the aftermath of each draft are people saying team X could have waited and gotten player Y in a later round and then overall team draft grades.

 

[ChiefGritty]

 

[Illwinsagain]

Overall, I like the Bears’ draft. I know that is seemingly an unpopular opinion, but they picked up some very nice pieces. Yes, they probably need to bring in a veteran or two on DL, I think the defensive speed Bears added through the draft and free agent signings will allow DA to expand defensive sets that will help.

Two things that drive me nuts in the aftermath of each draft are people saying team X could have waited and gotten player Y in a later round and then overall team draft grades.

I am with you. The Bears seemed to upgrade with their picks. They stayed disciplined to their board. Not filling the gaping hole in the DL, looked short sighted, but picking based off of need, instead of best player available is where teams get in real trouble.

 

[IllinoisssssssVarsity]

Whats the NFL version of NCAAB’s “a top 10 offense and top 40 defense” can win you a championship

 

[WolfpackIllini]

I expected Edge/DL to be a focus and scratched my head while the draft went on.
Afterwards there was a pretty good explanation (on a post here, iirc) that the Bears had many players coming back from injury that they thought they would have this covered, and that the most desired Edge/DL picks were already off the board.

That said, our DL pick in round 6 sounds great, but how was he still available if that's true?? And trading up 2 from round 7 to get 1 in round 6 is kindof unusual. But hey, if the guy is a late round gem... Our starting RB is last year's round 7 pick.

The C pick was curious, because his review on the site I read said he may have won awards, but isn't that good for the NFL because (among another thing or two) he has shorter arms than desired. Yikes! I'd be ashamed to show up for family dinners if I had short arms! Then I read another site which was much more positive. His ratings varied significantly between these 2 sites, of course. I think I will trust our Coach on this one!

 

[WolfpackIllini]

Whats the NFL version of NCAAB’s “a top 10 offense and top 40 defense” can win you a championship

With 32 teams, a top 40 D should be doable.

 

[Grandpa]

With 32 teams, a top 40 D should be doable.

I've seen some Bears teams with their starting defense worse than other teams' backups. Would that count?

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

I expected Edge/DL to be a focus and scratched my head while the draft went on.
Afterwards there was a pretty good explanation (on a post here, iirc) that the Bears had many players coming back from injury that they thought they would have this covered, and that the most desired Edge/DL picks were already off the board.

That said, our DL pick in round 6 sounds great, but how was he still available if that's true?? And trading up 2 from round 7 to get 1 in round 6 is kindof unusual. But hey, if the guy is a late round gem... Our starting RB is last year's round 7 pick.

The C pick was curious, because his review on the site I read said he may have won awards, but isn't that good for the NFL because (among another thing or two) he has shorter arms than desired. Yikes! I'd be ashamed to show up for family dinners if I had short arms! Then I read another site which was much more positive. His ratings varied significantly between these 2 sites, of course. I think I will trust our Coach on this one!

Jones (the C pick) is extremely athletic for a Center. Will almost certainly be great in the zone running schemes Ben prefers. The questions are with his pass protection. At Iowa they ran the ball on about 2/3 of their offensive snaps. Obviously, there is a LOT more tape of him in running schemes. When Iowa passed, it was often in OBVIOUS passing situations, making protection more difficult.

The Bears will use a lot of 3 TE sets, (hence the Roush pick)... but Ben tends to pass out of these sets more than most who employ them. This should help us protect as well.

As Far as DL, they spent a lot of money on Odeyingbo (Played in 1st 8 games, achilles), and Booker (Missed first 7 games) came on strong at the end of the year. We had both of these guys available for about one half of one game last year.


They also still have high hopes for Shemar Turner, who was basically never completely healthy last year. (injured his ankle on the first play of camp, came back played sparingly weeks 4-8, tore his ACL and was put on IR).

Van den Berg is a project, but he is a MONSTER athlete. He is from South Africa and was a rugby player. Never touched a football until 10th grade. Was a zero star, walk-on LB at Iowa Western CC, before he put on 40 pounds and went to Penn St, then GT.
At his pro-day at Georgia Tech he scored the 2nd highest all-time in the athleticism drills for a DT prospect. (10.0) Speed, strength, explosiveness, agility... the kid has it. He lacks balance and technique. Super intriguing prospect. Kid is known for his work ethic and motor. (His grandfather was a bodybuilder, and his grandmother holds several SA swimming records)
Hopefully, they can coach him up.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Jones (the C pick) is extremely athletic for a Center. Will almost certainly be great in the zone running schemes Ben prefers. The questions are with his pass protection. At Iowa they ran the ball on about 2/3 of their offensive snaps. Obviously, there is a LOT more tape of him in running schemes. When Iowa passed, it was often in OBVIOUS passing situations, making protection more difficult.

The Bears will use a lot of 3 TE sets, (hence the Roush pick)... but Ben tends to pass out of these sets more than most who employ them. This should help us protect as well.

As Far as DL, they spent a lot of money on Odeyingbo (Played in 1st 8 games, achilles), and Booker (Missed first 7 games) came on strong at the end of the year. We had both of these guys available for about one half of one game last year.


They also still have high hopes for Shemar Turner, who was basically never completely healthy last year. (injured his ankle on the first play of camp, came back played sparingly weeks 4-8, tore his ACL and was put on IR).

Van den Berg is a project, but he is a MONSTER athlete. He is from South Africa and was a rugby player. Never touched a football until 10th grade. Was a zero star, walk-on LB at Iowa Western CC, before he put on 40 pounds and went to Penn St, then GT.
At his pro-day at Georgia Tech he scored the 2nd highest all-time in the athleticism drills for a DT prospect. (10.0) Speed, strength, explosiveness, agility... the kid has it. He lacks balance and technique. Super intriguing prospect. Kid is known for his work ethic and motor. (His grandfather was a bodybuilder, and his grandmother holds several SA swimming records)
Hopefully, they can coach him up.

I saw a stat about 3 TE usage. Numbers might be slightly off, but you’ll get the gist. Rams ran 3 TE sets about 30% of the time. The Bears were in top 5 with about 8% usage. You can bet that percentage increases. Also Roush will help ensure that in multiple TE sets Loveland is almost always split out wide. That’s where he’ll be most effective as pass catcher and also limits some wear and tear on him from blocking.

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

I saw a stat about 3 TE usage. Numbers might be slightly off, but you’ll get the gist. Rams ran 3 TE sets about 30% of the time. The Bears were in top 5 with about 8% usage. You can bet that percentage increases. Also Roush will help ensure that in multiple TE sets Loveland is almost always split out wide. That’s where he’ll be most effective as pass catcher and also limits some wear and tear on him from blocking.

Yeah, the Bears ran out with multiple TE's like 45% of the time last year. Loveland is as much a JUMBO WR, as he is a TE. They will all play quite a bit.
Kmet's days in Chicago are likely numbered anyway. It's also kind of rare for a rookie TE to play a lot the first year, especially if they aren't early first round talents. I think Roush is being added to develop into Kmet's much less expensive 2027 replacement. Cole's salary will be quite high next season. I think they will try to move it somehow.

 

[IlliniFaninHoosierLand]

Best comp I've heard for Logan Jones is Tyler Linderbaum lite. A lot of similarities with them (including how they both came into Iowa as DL but switched over to o-line) though Jones is undersized by comparison.

Thomas is giving a lot of people Velus Jones vibes (which god help us he doesn't become that).

Malik Muhammad is the potential replacement for Tyrique Stevenson, who is in a contract year.

 

[keb]

Overall, I like the Bears’ draft. I know that is seemingly an unpopular opinion, but they picked up some very nice pieces. Yes, they probably need to bring in a veteran or two on DL, I think the defensive speed Bears added through the draft and free agent signings will allow DA to expand defensive sets that will help.

Two things that drive me nuts in the aftermath of each draft are people saying team X could have waited and gotten player Y in a later round and then overall team draft grades.

Haven't blocking te been turned into dominant de. Isn't Rouse what Allen wants, 6'6, 270, physical, fast, constant motor.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Haven't blocking te been turned into dominant de. Isn't Rouse what Allen wants, 6'6, 270, physical, fast, constant motor.

I highly doubt that happens. He’s also exactly what Johnson wants at TE. Plus, can’t remember a TE being drafted that high and then switching to other side of the ball, having no experience on DL.