The NFL Combine is here, and now it feels like we’re fully on the road to April’s NFL Draft.
This year’s draft will be a huge one for Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson. Last season, they hit it out of the park, bringing in Colston Loveland, Ozzy Trapilo, and Luther Burden III to help revamp Chicago’s offense and vault it to near the top of the league. This offseason, the other side of the ball would benefit greatly from a similar boost.
While the Bears might nab an offensive tackle or a skill position player at some point in the Draft, I fully expect this year’s class to heavily lean toward the defense. Dennis Allen’s unit overachieved last season, and they’ll need to make some improvements at all three levels of the defense.
So that brings us to this weekend’s combine. Every year, we see players’ stock rise and fall based on their performance in Indianapolis. While right now it appears there’s a group of players in the Bears’ window picking 25th overall, performances this weekend and at pro days over the course of the spring could certainly change that.
Now, obviously, many players in action this weekend will be on Chicago’s radar and could end up in the orange and blue next season. However, there are some really intriguing prospects that I think can do wonders for their draft stock and turn some heads with a big performance at Lucas Oil Stadium. With that in mind, here’s a look at some potential Bears targets I’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend.
2026 NFL Combine Bears Targets To Watch
DT Kayden McDonald – Ohio State
Height: 6’3 Weight: 326 Age: 21NFL.com Scouting Report: A talented run defender, McDonald plays with natural leverage and rattles pads with his initial contact. He’s quick to locate ball-carriers, play off of blocks, and rally to the action. His technique is a bit underdeveloped, and he’s not a natural drain-clogger against double teams, but he still managed an unusually high tackle rate as an interior defender. Quicker hand strikes should allow for more efficient reps and earlier wins at the point. He offers limited rush value, so his money will be made by giving grief to centers and guards as an even-front nose tackle with starting potential.
McDonald will be very much in play for the Bears with the 25th overall pick. He fits the mold for what I think is the Bears’ biggest need this offseason – interior defensive line help. Yes, the Bears need to add depth on the edge, but Montez Sweat is still very good, and Austin Booker really came on toward the end of the year. Adding a starter at that position is not their biggest need.
McDonald, on the other hand, can step in on day one and arguably be the team’s best interior defensive lineman. He’s outstanding against the run, where the Bears struggled mightily last season. The junior DT out of Ohio State is incredibly powerful, smart, changes direction well, and has a high motor. While he’s powerful, sometimes, explosiveness in the pass rush isn’t quite there, and he has some technique items to improve. But all in all, he’d fill a big hole for Chicago’s defense.
Syndication: The Columbus DispatchDT Caleb Banks – Florida
Height: 6’6 Weight: 335 Age: 22NFL.com Scouting Report: Big-framed, long-limbed interior defender whose play needs more polish to consistently match his traits. Banks has a quick first step. He can stun/control single blocks when his hand strikes are timely and accurate, but he needs faster disengagement to increase his tackle count. His high center of gravity allows double teams to generate displacement, so a move to odd-front end could be in his best interest as a run defender. Like a grappler without submission knowledge, Banks is still learning to unlock his physical advantages so he can turn them into sacks.
Banks is another name that’s been mentioned as a potential Bears pick at 25th overall. He was already a standout performer at the Senior Bowl, and I think he’ll be that again this weekend in Indy. He’s got the size, frame, and physical traits anyone could want, and he’s very quick off the ball. But after that initial pop, he needs some fine-tuning. To me, Banks is much more of a 2nd Round high-ceiling pick than a 25th overall selection. With the right situation, he can be a very good player, but I’m not sure the Bears’ immediate need for a top DT is the best spot for him.
If this description sounds familiar, it’s because it should. Banks has an eerily similar draft profile to fellow Florida Gator and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., who got off to a very nice start to his career before a bit of a step back last season. Oddly enough, Dexter Sr. is Banks’ NFL comparison.
DT Peter Woods – Clemson
Height: 6’3 Weight: 310 Age: 20NFL.com Scouting Report: Woods is a young interior defender with room to add play strength as he fills out his frame. He’s not a pure one- or two-gap fit, but he’s capable in both schemes. He plays with good lower-body explosiveness into initial contact, keeping his hands and feet synced to work around blocks when needed. He’s more of an active brawler than double-team eating tree stump.
Shorter arms allow blockers to crowd his frame and force him to fight harder at the point. Yet, his ability to overtake and win as the rep progresses is impressive. He lacks quick-win talent as a solo rusher, but he’s fully functional as part of a pocket-collapsing collective. His 2024 tape might be a better representation of his upside, but Woods clearly has the potential to become a solid starter in an even front.
Peter Woods has a ton of upside, but it just feels like he’s got a little bit of growing into his body to do. Heading into his 2025 season at Clemson, he was thought of as a potential top-ten pick. He didn’t necessarily have a bad season for the Tigers, but the production dropped off a bit, and with it did his draft stock.
That’s not to say he won’t be a 1st Round pick; he’ll be in play for Chicago at 25th overall. But after looking a bit out of place at times after putting on some (good) weight before this season, how he looks at the combine could have a big impact onhow teams view him when April rolls around.
MORE: Check out our latest 2026 NFL Mock Drafts from Matt & Patrick
EDGE Gabe Jacas – Illinois
Height: 6’3 Weight: 310 Age: 20NFL.com Scouting Report: Jacas is well-built with tremendous play strength and the ability to play as a hand-down end or a stand-up edge. He’s more rugged than explosive and twitchy. He can hold his ground against power, but needs to do a better job of playing with discipline to set and contain his edge. Jacas’ pass-rush plan lacks creativity but features a good deal of force and leg drive to bully his way into the pocket once he opens the tackle’s edge. His play is more steak than sizzle with average sack production expected, but his field demeanor and play strength foreshadow a long career as an NFL starter.
Jacas was a very productive player for Illinois over the past few seasons. Over the past two campaigns in Champaign, he recorded 19 sacks and six forced fumbles. The guy is productive and makes plays. However, at times, he lacks that pure explosion that jumps off the screen when watching him, though he plays with a lot of power. If he can have a big weekend and show off some explosiveness that some think he lacks, he could absolutely vault close to the 1st Round. While I doubt he’s in play at 25th overall, I think he’s absolutely a name to watch with the Bears in the 2nd or 3rd Round.
Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn ImagesLB Jacob Rodriguez – Texas Tech
Height: 6’1 Weight: 233 Age: 23NFL.com Scouting Report: Rodriguez arrived in college as an offensive “athlete” and leaves Texas Tech as a bigger-than-life, stat-stuffing linebacker. He’s uniquely productive, with elite tackle, interception, and forced fumble production. He’ll occasionally bounce out of a run fit when chasing action, but he has the burst to race back inside and finish. He’s slippery working off blocks and navigating combo climbers. His lateral pursuit leaves the station on time and with a fast take-off.
Rodriguez displays ballhawking instincts and outstanding hands, but busted coverages were part of the package in 2025. His unbridled urgency and “make every play” mindset can inflate missed tackle totals, but the production should outweigh the occasional headaches. He projects as a long-term starting inside linebacker.
Rodriguez is very likely a day two pick, but it wouldn’t be a total stunner if he were around early in day three. The Texas Tech star was unreal for the Red Raiders last season. While he had a star-studded cast surrounding him, Rodriguez did everything for Texas Tech and even ended up as a Heisman finalist. He’s an outstanding football player. His technique, instincts, and motor are all big pluses. I just think his measurables and not being a “freak athlete” are hampering his draft stock.
If players were drafted on production alone, Rodriguez would be a 1st Round pick. I think as a 3rd Round selection, or if Chicago gets lucky and he’s hanging around in the 4th, he’d be a home run pick. The Bears need to add at linebacker badly. Rodriguez could absolutely slot into this defense day one, and while maybe he won’t blow anyone away right off the bat, he would be a productive player that Dennis Allen could rely on in the middle of the defense. I think this weekend’s combine will be huge for Rodriguez’s draft stock.
LB Harold Perkins Jr. – LSU
Height: 6’0 Weight: 222 Age: 21NFL.com Scouting Report: Slightly undersized off-ball linebacker with solid 2025 production but less in-game impact than he showed in 2022 and 2023 before his ACL tear in 2024. Perkins is decisive against the run and knifes into the backfield when lanes open. He’s adequate in block take-ons and finishes tackles near the line with good physicality. He can still run but lacks his previous explosiveness in close-outs and pursuit. His instincts in space are average, and he can get lost in coverage, but he has the athletic ability coverage requires. Perkins is at his best when deployed in a scheme that allows him to play free and attack the line as often as possible.
Harol Perkins Jr. is one of the bigger “what-ifs” in this draft class. As a true freshman, he looked like one of the more dominant defenders in the country. He was one of the most electric pass rushers in college football. Then, in 2023, Brian Kelly’s staff moved him inside, where he was still productive but didn’t make as much of an impact. In 2024, most of his season was lost due to a torn ACL, but this past season, he returned to the middle and was a solid player again.
He had elite explosion and athletic ability as a freshman when playing on the edge. Who knows if he can recapture that after tearing his ACL, but we know that player is in there somewhere. If I were Ryan Poles, I’d be really intrigued by Perkins Jr. as a high-risk, high-reward type of prospect. A big combine performance could vault him back onto a lot of teams’ radars.
S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren – Toledo
Height: 6’0 Weight: 222 Age: 21Long, downhill safety capable of bolstering a team’s run defense and playing enforcer over the middle. McNeil-Warren is most valuable when playing near the line of scrimmage or in robber positioning. He anticipates well in coverage and is quick to close on receivers, but will need to be protected by scheme to prevent speed mismatches. He’s urgent in run support and has a feel for slipping blocks/meeting runners early in the carry. He’s a rangy tackler, but needs to quiet his feet when diagnosing and flowing downhill to tackle. McNeil-Warren might be pigeon-holed schematically, but he’s good at his job.
McNeil-Warren, as of now, is one of the few non-defensive linemen I could see Ryan Poles going with at 25th overall. Right now, he projects as an early day two selection, but the back end of the first round isn’t out of question for him. He’s a safety who plays the run well, thrives in coming up and playing in the box, and has good instincts in pass coverage.
His play style feels very similar to Jaquan Brisker’s, and as we know, Brisker could very well be departing in free agency. A solid NFL Combine performance this weekend could very well put McNeil-Warren into the Bears’ consideration at 25th overall, if he isn’t there already, while a lackluster performance this weekend could have him in the Bears’ range on day two.
David Banks-Imagn ImagesHence then, the article about players i m watching at the nfl combine as potential bears draft targets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Players I’m Watching At The NFL Combine As Potential Bears Draft Targets )
Also on site :