Legend Devin Hester and HEINZ celebrate the 57th pick with a lifetime ketchup supply. Who will claim this unique NFL Draft honor?
The Chicago Bears are entering a pivotal draft in the Ryan Poles era.
The General Manager brought the franchise out of the depths and back into relevance after leading it to the playoffs last season.
Changes have been made to the leadership structure since the 2025 NFL Draft. Assistant GM Ian Cunningham is no longer with the franchise after accepting the GM position at the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bears hired Jeff King to replace Cunningham, and he said at his predraft press conference that his goal is to create competition. The franchise also said goodbye to some starters like D.J. Moore, Tremaine Edmunds, Nahshon Wright, Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker this offseason.
All eyes will be on the Bears' No. 25 pick, but there is a special promotion tied to the No. 57 pick.
The player that the Bears pick at No. 57 will get a lifetime supply of HEINZ ketchup with a custom-made jacket. The national ketchup brand teamed up with Bears legend Devin Hester.
That pick holds special significance for Chicago, as the last time the franchise had it was when the Hall of Famer was drafted in 2006.
Hester was the definition of a return specialist with Chicago, making four Pro Bowls during his time in the Windy City. He was not the player you would want to kick the ball to.
Now, the question is who the Bears will draft?
The offense had quite the turnaround in 2025, finishing inside the top 15 for passing yards, rushing yards and points per game. Defensively, it was a struggle.
The Bears had the most takeaways in the NFL, but were in the bottom 10 of the league in passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed and points allowed per game.
It's been said that defense wins championships, and that's where Chicago should focus on in the draft.
Edge rusher or defensive tackle would make sense at No. 25.
Even with Montez Sweat's great season, where he finished with 10 sacks, the Bears still had an inconsistent pass rush. Chicago ranked 22nd in the NFL with 35 sacks last season.
The rush defense wasn't too much better.
The Bears allowed the sixth-most rushing yards per game, so interior defensive line help is definitely needed.
There's also a need for a safety.
After losing both Byard and Brisker in free agency, the Poles signed former Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant. However, another player at the position is still needed, given Cam Lewis' lack of starting experience.
The draft is unpredictable, but one thing that's for certain is that Poles knows how to find late-round gems.
We saw how successful he was in the later rounds of last year's draft, finding Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kyle Monangai, who all eventually started for the Bears as rookies.
Who knows? Maybe the Bears can find another special talent with the 57th pick.