The Bears drafted eight players, but one crucial area remains a mystery. Will their pass rush be potent enough to terrorize opposing quarterbacks?
The Chicago Bears ended up taking eight players in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, Iowa center Logan Jones, LSU receiver Zavion Thomas, Stanford tight end Sam Roush, Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad, Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan Van Den Berg were the picks.
All the picks filled a specific need that the Bears had.
After losing Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker in free agency, Thieneman will start alongside offseason acquisition Coby Bryant.
Jones is a player who can learn behind Garrett Bradbury and potentially start in the near future. Thomas is a gadget receiver and a great return specialist who the Bears could have many uses for in the wideout room.
With Roush, he'll most likely be the third option at tight behind Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. Roush can block and be a receiving option for Caleb Williams.
Muhammad adds depth to the secondary after Chicago lost Nahshon Wright and C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency.
The same goes for Elliott. The Bears said goodbye to both Amen Ogbongbemiga and Tremaine Edmunds, so adding him replenishes the reserves.
After waiting for most of the draft for General Manager Ryan Poles to take a defensive lineman, he finally added in the sixth round with Van Den Berg. Van Den Berg is a fast, athletic defensive tackle who could work his way into the rotation at the position this season because of his speed.
However, there was one question that ESPN's Courtney Cronin had after the draft was all said and done. It's a question that Bears fans have had for a while as well.
Like many fans in the Windy City, Cronin wondered if the Bears' pass rush would be good enough in 2026.
"Only one of Chicago's seven draft picks was spent on the defensive line, but not until the sixth round when the Bears traded up to select Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg," Cronin said. "The Bears exited the draft facing the same big question they had entering it. The current pass rush needs work, and barring a trade that injects the D-line with impact talent, the Bears will rely on Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, and Shemar Turner to improve a unit that ranked 31st in pass rush win rate and 29th in pressure percentage last season."
After the Achilles injury to Dayo Odeyingbo, it became clear that the Bears' edge rushers had a lack of depth. Montez Sweat had the best season of his Chicago career, recording 11 sacks.
Gervon Dexter had six, with Austin Booker contributing 4.5 to the sack total for the team. The Bears ranked 22nd in the NFL with 35 sacks last season.
One would think that the pass rush would've been a higher priority for the Bears in the draft. However, Chicago didn't really address it outside of Van Den Berg in the sixth round. Elliott showed some promise as a pass rusher in college, recording seven sacks with Arizona State.
The Bears have some young options on the roster, but they are mostly unproven. Booker has gotten better every season that he's been with the franchise. Shemar Turner was supposed to have a bigger role with the defense as a rookie, but he suffered a torn ACL and missed most of 2025.
Odeyingbo was in a similar boat with his injury, but even before that, he wasn't very productive. Odeyingbo accounted for 21 total tackles, one sack and two TFLs in eight games played.
Regardless of what the fans think, it seems like Poles is confident in the group the Bears already have. Will it be enough to put consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks?