There are all kinds of opinions floating around regarding the Chicago Bears' 2026 NFL Draft, with both good and bad coming from it.
Days 1 and 3 got a lot of praise from the fan base, but Bears fans are not particularly happy about the picks they had in the second and third rounds. The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain shared his thoughts on the Bears after the draft, noting a lingering concern Bears fans have about the current roster.
"Day 2 of this draft will be highly scrutinized. The three picks (center Logan Jones, tight end Sam Roush and receiver Zavion Thomas) are not in line to be immediate contributors. Good teams that pick late in drafts can feel comfortable relying on their process because they return so many good players. Though the depth is fortified on offense, the defense hampered the Bears most last season. They appeared to get good value with safety Dillon Thieneman and their Day 3 defensive players, but the focus this spring and summer will be on whether the defensive front can rebound."
Bears still have a massive problem on the defensive line going into 2026
The only thing the Bears did with the defensive line in the draft was select Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg in the sixth round, and while that's a good value pick, fans wanted them to get one sooner. An even bigger problem is that they didn't even select an edge rusher in the draft.
Picks like Thieneman in the first round and Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad in the fourth round will help the defense out, but the defensive line wasn't even looked at until late on Day 3. This is the same team that only had 35 sacks in the 2025 season, so not even getting one edge rusher is a frustrating feeling for Bears fans.
Now the Bears have to lean on the idea that Austin Booker is going to make a massive step up in Year 3, as well as Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner rebounding from their season-ending injuries last year. Not to mention whether Grady Jarrett can bounce back from a bad first year in Chicago, and the three free agent tackles they signed will even make an impact.
Read more: Bears fans at least don't have to worry about biggest headache for half the NFL
Bears general manager Ryan Poles is really sticking his neck out for the guys he has on the roster now, and he'd better hope they step up in 2026. If not, the fan base is not going to let him hear the end of it.
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