The 2026 NFL Draft is just a few days away, and with the edge rusher position still the biggest weakness on the Bears' roster, general manager Ryan Poles must invest high draft capital to address the unit.
In just a few days , the Bears will have upgraded their roster with a new class of rookies. The 2026 NFL Draft presents opportunities to add high-level football players to a team coming off an NFC North title a season ago.
For Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson, this will be their second draft together. The 2025 class produced starting players to build the future around, especially on offense with tight end Colston Loveland, wide receiver Luther Burden III and running back Kyle Monangai.
Now, it's time for the Bears to identify those defensive cornerstones to build an all-around team.
With Chicago's No. 25 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Bears must select the best available edge rusher to help strengthen a unit that consistently struggled to affect opposing quarterbacks.
The Bears' successful 2025 season and thrilling fourth-quarter comebacks masked glaring holes that deserved more attention.
Chicago's pass rush was one of the worst in the league last season.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Bears finished in the bottom of the league in the following categories:
- Quarterback Pressure Rate: 31.6% (27th)
- Quarterback Pressures: 189 (25th)
- Team Average Time to Pressure: 2.90 (32nd)
- Team Average Pass Rush Get-off: 0.93 (32nd)
- Passing Yards Per Play Allowed: 6.8 (28th)
- Sacks: 35 (22nd)
However you want to look at defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's defense, it struggled to apply pressure. If it wasn't for Caleb Williams' and Colston Loveland's fourth-quarter heroics against the Cincinnati Bengals that ended with a 58-yard game-deciding touchdown, the Bears would have lost to 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco, who threw for 470 yards and four touchdowns.
When Williams and the Bears' offense couldn't bail out the defense, remember how the Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers turned out. Brock Purdy made the defense look foolish at times, throwing for three touchdowns and 303 yards and was sacked just once in the 49ers' 42-38 win.
The Bears have proven they can score to keep up with teams, but they have to learn how stop teams from scoring. That's why improving the pass rush must become a priority in the upcoming draft.
With the Bears picking at the back portion of the first round, that obviously means some of the pass rushers will be gone by the time Chicago is on the clock. Still, there are a number of players who would easily boost the defense's ability to pressure the quarterback.
If someone like Miami's Akheem Mesidor falls because he will be a 25-year-old rookie, then the Bears benefit with a prospect who comes ready to contribute Day 1. Missouri's Zion Young is another player who has been consistently mocked to the Bears, and at 6-foot-5, 262-pounds, he fits the ideal size Allen likes in his edge rushers. Keldric Faulk from Auburn has received some buzz as someone who has plenty of upside to grow as pass rusher.
The Bears haven't drafted an edge rusher in the first round since the team selected Leonard Floyd with the No. 9 overall pick from the University of Georgia in 2016.
It's time the Bears invest in one of the most important positions on the football field. If the Bears' big board has a pass rusher as the team's highest-graded player when it's their turn to select, then it should be an easy decision for Poles and his staff.