The Chicago Bears could have gone in a ton of different directions during the 2026 NFL Draft, but their initial strategy for the second round was certainly interesting.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles started with selecting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with the 25th overall pick of the draft. ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler shared some behind-the-scenes news from the second round as the Bears had a different plan before selecting Iowa center Logan Jones with the 57th overall pick and trading out of the second round with their 60th overall pick.
"The Bears eyed a trade-up in the second round but chose to stand pat. They were high on Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood, who went No. 37 to the Giants. Chicago figured its No. 25 pick, Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, would be gone in the top 20, so perhaps Hood would've been a viable fallback option there if Thieneman was off the board."
Bears initially wanted to go cornerback in the second-round of 2026 NFL Draft
Interesting that the Bears didn't think about going edge rusher in the second round, even with them trying to trade up in the draft. They were more interested in the cornerback.
This is a very telling sign of how they really feel about Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and the edge-rusher room. It appears as though Chicago might not be so high on Stevenson, and they are loving who they have at edge rusher between Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, and Dayo Odeyingbo.
Chicago instead with Jones, who will be the Bears' future starting center to replace Drew Dalman, but will have to compete with Garrett Bradbury first in training camp this year. The Bears did go cornerback in the fourth round, getting a good selection in Texas' Malik Muhammad, who might still be competing with Stevenson for the CB2 job.
Read more: Logan Jones already sounds like he was born to be Day 1 Bears starting center
Bears fans wished they had gone edge rusher earlier, but it appears that Poles is staying strong to what he currently has. Hood is a nice prospect, but the Bears might be better off playing it safe by staying put and getting the center of the future.
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