Everyone called for the Chicago Bears to address the edge rusher position going into the offseason, and after missing out on Maxx Crosby in a trade, that noise got a lot louder at the 2026 NFL Draft.
The end result of that after two days of the draft? Not a single pick was an edge rusher; in fact, all three of the Day 2 picks were all offensive players. After the draft, Bears general manager Ryan Poles talked about what happened to cause them not to do anything.
"It wasn’t really possible to get up that high without giving up a ton. And at the end of the day, we just follow the board."
Ryan Poles said the Bears expected the top of Round 2 to be where the run on defensive ends began. By No. 45, five edge rushers were off the board, and Poles said it was cost prohibitive for the Bears to move up from 57.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) April 25, 2026
Poles: "It wasn’t really possible to get up that high…
Ryan Poles faces tough questions about no edge rushers selected
What made Day 2 good for the Bears going into it was that they had two second-round picks and one third-rounder they could have used to move up and get an edge rusher if they needed one. Instead, they stayed put with the 57th pick and traded away the 60th overall pick to move back to make two picks in the third round.
Bears fans seem to be panicked about the edge rusher room now that they didn't address it at all. Poles seem to feel the opposite about it.
"At the defensive line position, Book’s coming along with Dayo, Sweat, Shemar," Poles said via ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "We feel good about those guys. Obviously, we have one more day, so we can continue to add. But like what that group is and what they’re becoming, and we feel like there is some developmental upside, and like I said yesterday, with Year 2 in the system, we should be able to take the next step."
Montez Sweat and Austin Booker are the top edge rushers who should be trusted to do their job. The Bears whiffed badly on Dayo Odeyingbo after signing him to an expensive three-year deal last offseason, and fans don't know about Shemar Turner yet, as he lost half the season to an ACL injury.
Read more: Ben Johnson gets his guy as Bears select draft sleeper Zavion Thomas in Round 3
Poles is putting all his faith in an edge-rusher room that isn't the strongest on paper. If he doesn't get this right, there are going to be even tougher questions he'll have to answer next offseason. Bears fans hope that Poles knows what he's doing with the defensive line.
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