Mock draft season never ends, as one of the latest releases suggests that the Chicago Bears might take a different approach than they did in 2025.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles went offense-heavy with three of the first four picks in the first two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, focusing on offense. The goal is to build the offense around second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, who is coming off a decent, but still disappointing, rookie season.
With the offense hopefully be solved, next year's focus could shift to the defense.
2026 way too early NFL mock draft has Bears going defense in each of their first three picks
Pro Football Network writer Max Dorsey ran through his first three rounds of his 2026 NFL mock draft. Dorsey had the Bears with the 16th overall pick in the draft, with Poles taking Colorado cornerback D.J. McKinney.
"The Chicago Bears upgraded their offense in a big way this offseason, but still have a few holes to fill on their defense, specifically in the secondary. Colorado’s DJ McKinney would be a great boundary addition to Chicago’s cornerback room alongside Jaylon Johnson.
McKinney has great length at cornerback, and his 6’2″, 190-pound frame will allow him to play on the boundary at the next level. On top of his frame, he possesses great athletic ability and can be an effective corner in either a man or zone scheme."
Last year, McKinney played his first season with the Buffaloes after transferring from Oklahoma State, as he finished with three interceptions and nine pass deflections. He's expected to take over for Travis Hunter as the primary cornerback on Colorado this season.
McKinney is a fascinating choice for Chicago with a secondary that's already pretty solid in the starting lineup. Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson are already the starters with Kyler Gordon at slot corner, who is on a new contract extension through 2028. The play here could either be to trade Stevenson or have McKinney sit behind him for a year, allowing Stevenson's contract to expire after 2026, with McKinney taking over the starting job.
With the 48th overall pick in the NFL Draft, Dorsey has the Bears selecting Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas. After eight total sacks in his first two years in college, Jacas doubled his 2023 total with eight sacks in 2024 for his best season.
This pick makes a lot of sense for several reasons. The first being that Jacas has been playing football locally in Illinois, which will get some of the fans excited. Edge rusher is also a position of need depth-wise in Chicago, with Austin Booker being the only decent backup on the team in 2025. If Montez Sweat struggles like he did in 2024 and Dayo Odeyingbo flops in his first year with the team, Jacas can help at least establish the future.
The final predicted pick is Indiana safety Amare Ferrell in the third round, 80th overall selection in the draft. Another Big Ten player with a lot of success in 2024 after Ferrell racked up 49 tackles and four interceptions for the Hoosiers.
Ferrell provides the Bears with a suitable replacement for the aging Kevin Byard III. The other thing Ferrell provides is insurance in case Jaquan Brisker gets hurt again after his brutal concussion last year.
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2025 was the year of the offense, but 2026 could be the year of the defense in Chicago.