After neglecting the interior defensive line during the draft, Ryan Poles may target Miami disruptor Ahmad Moten Sr. to anchor Chicago's front and bolster a struggling rush defense.
The Chicago Bears have completed the 2026 NFL Draft and are now preparing for their rookie minicamp, which will take place from May 8-9.
The Bears went with Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, Iowa center Logan Jones, Stanford tight end Sam Roush, LSU receiver Zavion Thomas, Texas corner Malik Muhammad, Arizona State linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and Georgia Tech defensive tackle Jordan Van Den Berg.
Interior defensive line and edge rusher were big needs for the Bears ahead of the draft.
Chicago ranked 22nd with 35 sacks as a team last season, even with Montez Sweat's 10-sack season. The injury to Dayo Odeyingbo exposed a true lack of depth at the position, but the Bears decided not to address it in the draft.
It seems General Manager Ryan Poles is happy with the edge rushers on the roster.
The Bears also allowed the sixth-most rushing yards per game in 2025. Gervon Dexter and Grady Jarrett are expected to start on the inside, but the team lost depth like Andrew Billings to free agency.
Poles waited until the sixth round to take Van Den Berg out of Georgia Tech. Although Van Den Berg and the Bears haven't played a single game yet, ESPN's Jordan Reid wasn't convinced it was enough to improve their rush defense.
In his early 2027 NFL Mock Draft, he predicted the Bears would pick 16th overall and take Miami defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr.
"The Bears went surprisingly light on the interior defensive line in last week's draft, waiting until the sixth round to address the position," Reid said. "Moten is an explosive disruptor who finished with nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season. He has quick and powerful hands to swipe away interior blockers and is a stout run defender who can stand his ground in gaps. Moten needs to play with better pad level, as his aggressiveness can cause him to play high and be pushed out of position, but he could be the Grady Jarrett heir apparent in Chicago."
Moten just had a career year at Miami.
He recorded 31 total tackles, nine TFLs and 4.5 sacks for the Hurricanes last season. It wouldn't be the worst move, either, with Jarrett's contract running out in 2028.
Dexter won't become an unrestricted free agent until 2027 if the Bears want to have both Van Den Berg and Moten on the roster to step in next in case the franchise moves on from both.
If the Bears do pick 16th overall in next year's draft, it would mean that the team would have a finish similar to the Indianapolis Colts, who went 8-9 in 2025.
Hopefully, the Bears have a better finish than that in Ben Johnson's second year. We'll have to wait and see what year two has in store.