Last year's draft class was among one of the best the Chicago Bears have had in a long time.
They seemed to hit the right notes on a lot of their picks, with first-round pick Colston Loveland and second-round pick Luther Burden being two of the top four leading receivers, as well as second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo stepping in at left tackle near the end of the season, and seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai shocking everyone by gaining nearly 800 yards in Year 1. Bears general manager Ryan Poles is looking at another 2025 rookie as someone he's watching in 2026, with second-round pick Shemar Turner.
"Once he gets up and going, Shemar is a guy that I'm really excited to see have a breakout season," Poles said via chicagobears.com's Larry Mayer at the NFL owners meeting. "I had a ton of faith he was going to be on the same track as [fellow rookies] Luther [Burden], as Colston [Loveland], as Ozzy [Trapilo]; the more that he played, his impact was going to be felt more and more and I felt like we didn't get to see that."
Shemar Turner has all eyes on him in 2026 with the Bears
Turner only played five games in his debut season in the NFL, as he racked up just six tackles. It was an ACL injury he suffered in Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens that ended his 2025 campaign.
The Bears are going to need him more than ever now, as they did not get great production from one of their top free agent signings last offseason in Grady Jarrett. They are hoping to get a suitable future sidekick for Gervon Dexter at defensive tackle to solidify that position.
Chicago could be in the running for a defensive tackle in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, though, as guys like Clemson's Peter Woods and Ohio State's Kayden McDonald are the most mocked players to land at 25 to the Bears. Even with the signings of James Lynch, Neville Gallimore, and Kentavius Street, the Bears want to bulk up that defensive tackle position more.
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Turner has a chance to step up and become the impact player the Bears were hoping that he would be when they took him on Day 2 last year. He's got some work to do to beat out veteran talent, but Poles will be watching how he responds after a tough rookie season. The talent is there, though, for a monster 2026 season.