Chicago Bears fans left the 2026 NFL Draft with a lot to be desired, yet still felt good about the team.
There was a lot of talk about the Bears needing to do a lot of work on defense, but that didn't happen, with many just assuming that general manager Ryan Poles stuck to his "best player available" strategy. Poles stuck to that same messaging after the draft, as he told the media how he felt the weekend went.
"I thought we were disciplined. We were just following the board and the best player that was available to us," Poles said via The Score's Chris Emma. "I like the approach that we had. Came away with some really good players. With any position, we’re going to stay active, see what opportunities pop up. If we can improve our football team, we’ll do it."
Do Bears fans agree with Ryan Poles' assessment of 2026 NFL Draft?
If there is one pick that everyone agrees was a home run, it was the first round selection of Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman. Adding a playmaker to the secondary like Thieneman not only gives the safety position much-needed speed, but also keeps the Bears' identity as turnover machines intact with the young defensive back there.
After the first round, though? Bears fans are split on it.
Their second-round selection of Iowa center Logan Jones was a solid pick as the Bears get their center of the future. There were edge rushers and defensive tackles that Chicago could have taken, but fans let them pass.
It all started going downhill from there on Day 2, as they traded down and both of their third-round selections were offensive players. Stanford tight end Sam Roush was first, and that was a stunner that left Bears fans baffled. Even though Chicago got a wide receiver later in the round, picking LSU's Zavion Thomas when he was projected to go much later on Day 3 left even more heads being scratched in the Windy City.
Despite eventually getting a defensive tackle with their final pick in the sixth round, Bears fans were angered that the team did essentially nothing to help their defensive line. Poles has said he feels good about the unit, but fans are not buying into it yet.
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There's going to have to be some physical proof that Poles' picks worked when the 2026 season starts, but until then, skepticism will be a very popular emotion in Chicago for the next few months.
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