While Chicago’s decision to ignore the defensive line on Day 2 sparked immediate frustration among Bears fans, the track record of Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson suggests they deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Going into the 2026 NFL Draft, the defensive line was arguably the biggest position group that needed addressing on the Chicago Bears' roster.
After the first three rounds of the draft and four total picks, the Bears have not selected any defensive linemen -- a shocking decision considering Chicago's blatant struggles to get after opposing quarterbacks last season.
Instead of upgrading the defensive line or the defense in general, the Bears selected three offensive players on Day 2: Iowa C Logan Jones (Rd 2, Pick 57), Stanford TE Sam Roush (Rd 3, Pick 69) and LSU WR Zavion Thomas (Rd 3, Pick 89).
As expected, Bears fans were perplexed and unhappy about how the draft turned out after selecting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman in the first round.
I understand why people are upset, but we have learned that this current regime is adept at identifying offensive talent. It's not just head coach Ben Johnson, whom many fans like to attribute for the good picks. General manager Ryan Poles deserves the credit as well.
The Bears' 2025 Draft class consisted of eight players, five of them were on offense.
- Rd 1, Pick 10: TE Colston Loveland
- Rd 2, Pick 39: WR Luther Burden III
- Rd 2, Pick 56: OT Ozzy Trapilo
- Rd 6, Pick 195: OL Luke Newman
- Rd 7, Pick 233: RB Kyle Monangai
All these players saw the field at some point during the regular season, including Newman, who played 25 offensive snaps. Obviously, Loveland, Burden and Monangai carved big roles for themselves during the 2025 season.
Trapilo took over as the team's starting left tackle in Week 12 and held that position until he tore his patellar tendon against the Green Bay Packers int he playoffs.
The Bears wouldn't have clinched the NFC North or defeated the Packers without their 2025 offensive rookies.
If you trust Johnson and Poles, especially after last season and the team's overall process that landed the 2025 draft class, then Jones, Roush and Thomas shouldn't be completely disregarded and viewed as terrible picks.
Realistically, the three won't contribute much in 2026. The Bears needed a center for the future and drafted one who should fit seamlessly in Johnson's offense. Poles shared what that position means to Chicago.
“It's a vital part of our offense," Poles said. "And it's not easy to do. So when you come from a school like Iowa, you're taught the right way. You understand the communication aspect of it. You're the glue, you're the circuit board of that offensive line and you helped the run game. He's been doing that for a while now. We felt really comfortable with his intelligence and experience to come in and compete. ..."
Roush should serve as the third tight end in Johnson's scheme that runs 12 and 13 personnel at a top-5 rate. Last season, tight end Durham Smythe played 25.4% of the offensive snaps. That could be the floor for Roush.
Drafting Thomas reminds me of when the Los Angeles Rams selected Tutu Atwell with the 57th overall pick in the second round. Johnson and Sean McVay are regarded as some of the best offensive minds in football and having a small, fast playmaker is enticing.
Poles detailed how Thomas will fit in the wide receiver room.
“So this is a tough system, so it’s going to be a challenge for him to break through with Kalif (Raymond)," Poles said. "But again, we're going to open that competition up, for all of these guys coming in. I think you feel really good about the return, and the ability that he has and then he'll be in with the rest of the guys to learn the offense. And how does he do that? How fast does that come along? You all have talked to our receivers. It's a challenging system. So maybe that role starts small and it grows over time, but I don't want to put a cap on it. If he comes in and downloads fast and is up and running, then we'll see what happens.”
Temper the expectations for what Thomas could do on offense in his rookie year, but that doesn't mean he won't be a contributor for Johnson's offense in the future. I have my doubts, but the Bears identified him as someone they wanted on this team, despite consensus big boards stating he was a complete overdraft.
If you don't like the Bears' Day 2 picks, that's completely fine. But it's impossible to write any of those rookies off at this point, especially with the track record Poles and Johnson have after just one season of being together.