The biggest complaint about the Chicago Bears' roster entering the 2026 season was that the defensive line was not in great shape, and general manager Ryan Poles did nothing to help. Now Bears fans might need to apologize to Poles, including myself.
This offseason, the Bears added some talent at defensive tackle, including Kentavius Street, James Lynch, Neville Gallimore, and rookie Jordan van den Berg. The team added no edge rushers, which infuriated Bears fans. What made things even worse was that the Bears ended up trading their second-best pass rusher from 2025, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, to the Atlanta Falcons.
2026 brought up so many questions about whether the Bears' defensive line could not only stop the run but also finally get in the face of NFL quarterbacks. It turns out that Poles' risk with the defensive line might actually be paying off.
Bears' defensive line is actually making Ryan Poles look good through three games
It's a weird thing to say, since a lot of times it doesn't feel like the Bears' defensive line is having a great start to the year. Quietly, though, the numbers are showing good progress with this group.
Through three games, the Bears have accumulated 52 quarterback pressures and seven sacks. They rank 10th in the NFL in pressure rate at 32.7%, according to StatRankings.
The man leading the way in pressures, to no one's surprise, is Montez Sweat with nine, adding two sacks. Right behind him, though, is the one Bears fans should be most excited about: Dayo Odeyingbo. This year, Odeyingbo has eight pressures and is tied with Sweat for sacks with two.
Austin Booker is also having a good season off the edge for the Bears, racking up four pressures and one sack on the season. While more is needed from Booker, he is showing good progress.
Not many Bears fans would have thought that this unit would do well, but surprisingly, the numbers show that they might actually be one of the best in the NFL.
Now this could very well mean that Poles is going to do nothing about the defensive line this season, but he really should add to it. The Maxx Crosby dream might be dead with the Las Vegas Raiders being 3-0 on the season, but there are other edge rushers to go after.
Chicago is still one elite edge rusher away from being one of the top-five in the NFL. One single trade for a Pro Bowl defensive end could put them back in the conversation for a Super Bowl.
Read more: T.J. Edwards' tackles are down with Bears (but he's finding other ways to help)
Poles deserves his victory lap for the time being, but this Bears team could still use one more pass rusher to help them out. They are good, but how much better they could be if he just makes one more signing or trade for a top edge rusher.
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