The 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh. Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles, Assistant GM Jeff King, Head Coach Ben Johnson, and others are working together to create a sustained winner at Halas Hall. As of right now, the Bears have come up with a winning plan to use the team’s seven picks (Nos. 25, 57, 60, 89, 129, 239, and 241) on draft weekend. But this front office has made trades in every draft, so history suggests a shakeup shouldn’t be out of the question. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, let’s look at some of the best positional prospects in this class.
Previous: NONE.
Currently on the Roster (2025 PFF Grade)
Projected starters: DE Montez Sweat (72.4), DT Grady Jarrett (56.9), DT Gervon Dexter Sr. (55.7), DE Austin Booker (62.9)
Key reserves: Neville Gallmore (56.6), Dayo Odeyingbo (53.5), Kentavius Street (53.3), James Lynch (53.0), Shemar Turner (34.4), Daniel Hardy (29.0)
Top 100 Prospects
We’re using Dane Brugler’s top 100 big board at The Athletic to guide us toward the best prospects and fits for the Chicago Bears in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
Here’s how The Athletic’s consensus board ranks the edge defenders (overall ranking in parentheses):
Arvell Reese, Ohio State (1) David Bailey, Texas Tech (7) Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (9) Keldric Faulk, Auburn (15) Akheem Mesidor, Miami 28)Other prospects of note: T.J. Parker, Clemson (31); Malachi Lawrence, UCF (36); Zion Young, Missouri (37); Cashius Howell, Texas A&M (39); R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma (44); Gabe Jacas, Illinois (49); Keyron Crawford, Auburn (54); Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State (60); Derrick Moore, Michigan (77); Romello Height, Texas Tech (80); Jaishawn Barham, Michigan (100).
Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn ImagesHere’s how The Athletic’s consensus board ranks the interior defensive linemen (overall ranking in parentheses):
Kayden McDonald, Ohio State (32) Peter Woods, Clemson (35) Christen Miller, Georgia (43) Caleb Banks, Florida (52) Lee Hunter, Texas Tech (55)Other prospects of note: Domonique Orange, Iowa State (64); Tyler Onyedim, Texas A&M (74).
After watching the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks ride their waves of defensive line depth to Super Bowl glory the last two years, I am down to see the Bears use one of their early picks to add to the trenches. With four picks in the top 89, there is no excuse not to reel in a playmaker who can jump into the fray right away.
Team Need
HIGH
It’s not as if the Bears haven’t done anything along the defensive line this offseason. Chicago bolstered the back end of the defensive tackle depth chart with the free-agent additions of Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street, and James Lynch. The team also kicked the tires on a Maxx Crosby trade. But even after adding to the back-end of the depth chart, there are still major questions about the defensive line. Those murmurs of discontent will not be silenced until this front office adds an impact edge rusher or interior defensive lineman. What better place to do that than the 2026 NFL Draft?
NEW BEARS DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Gallimore | Lynch | Street
Looking back at last year’s pre-draft coverage, I noticed there were 12 interior defensive linemen among the top 100 highest-ranked prospects on The Athletic’s consensus big board. One year later, Brugler’s big board has just seven. That factoid puts some things into perspective. As does the fact that there are 16 edge defenders in Burgler’s top-100. For comparison’s sake, there were 18 on the 2025 consensus big board. My takeaway here is that the Bears are more likely to get a quality edge rusher prospect on Day 2, so perhaps it would make sense to take an interior defensive lineman if one falls to them with pick No. 25.
Bears Connections and Existing Rumors
Matt Miller, the ESPN analyst who predicted that Colston Loveland would be the Bears’ pick in 2025, broke out the crystal ball again to share that Missouri’s Zion Young was “a popular name in Chicago.” Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods has fond memories of the Jay Cutler-era Bears and says it would be a “blessing” to be drafted by Chicago. Kayden McDonald took a Top 30 visit with the Bears in March. The Ohio State star was a unanimous All-American and first-team All-Big Ten Performer who earned the conference’s Defensive Lineman of the Year award in 2025. A serious foot injury to Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks is dropping him down draft boards around the league and might be enough to keep him off the Bears’ draft board. Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald. © Joseph Maiorana-Imagn ImagesBest Fits and One Pick to Click
THREE GOOD FITS
Kayden McDonald, Ohio State defensive tackle. The advanced metrics weren’t fond of the Bears’ run defense in 2025. That unit allowed the most yards before contact on designed runs and had the league’s second-worst run-defense grade. McDonald is the type of defensive tackle whose presence on early downs could help neutralize the run game and put the defense in 3rd-and-long situations that could allow pass rushers to get off. Akheem Mesidor, Miami edge defender. This quote from Bears GM Ryan Poles discussing Mesidor and the risks that come with drafting an older prospect has stuck with me since I first heard it during NFL Combine Week:“I think they’re probably closer to their ceiling. The factor is, who’s developing them and what system are they in. But I think of a guy like Mesidor, who’s a little bit on the older end, but you see his two years at West Virginia and a couple of years at Miami. He goes and gets work with Jason Taylor along with (Rueben) Bain and you see this really cool player. And these guys have more refined plans going into the game. So, again, I think they’re closer to the ceiling, so the projection isn’t as great. But you kind of know what you’re going to get a little bit more.”
T.J. Parker, Clemson edge defender. Parker is the type of player who can provide a boost in the pass rush department while not being a liability as a run defender. I have concerns about the dip in production from 2024 (11 sacks, 19.5 tackles-for-loss, 6 forced fumbles) to 2025 (5 sacks, 9.5 TFLs, 0 FFs), but the overall profile still intrigues me.IF I HAD TO PICK ONE: Gabe Jacas is one of my favorite defensive line prospects in this draft class. The University of Illinois product drew a favorable comparison to Trey Hendrickson from NFL Draft guru Todd McShay. And while I won’t go as far as to predict Jacas will be the next Hendrickson, it feels worth pointing out that Bears Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen was in New Orleans when the Saints drafted Hendrickson. Perhaps he can make lightning strike twice with Jacas (or whichever defensive line prospect the Bears add on NFL Draft weekend).
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