Hello, Chicago Bears fans! Well, the 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and the Chicago Bears made a number of interesting selections across the three days and seven rounds of the draft. Shockingly, despite defensive line being perhaps their most significant need going into the draft, the Bears didn’t select a defensive lineman until their last pick which, after a trade with the Bills, was in the 6th round. Last year, the Bears shocked many draft experts when they went with Colston Loveland over Tyler
Warren at TE, and then took the WR out of Missouri, Luther Burden, in the second round, despite having Cole Kmet, DJ Moore, and Rome Odunze already on the roster. If taking a tight end and a wide receiver with their first two picks last season was unexpected, the fact the Bears took another tight end and another wide receiver, both in the 3rd round, this year, was downright eye-popping. What do the draft experts around the world of NFL reporting think about the Chicago Bears’ draft? Let’s take a walk around the web and find out:
Let’s start with Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame grade on the Bears’ 1st Round Pick:
Grade: B+
25. Chicago Bears: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
The Indiana native has been a steady riser throughout the draft process, being seen in that second wave of safeties alongside Emmanuel McNeil-Warren of Toledo. At Oregon, Thieneman racked up 95 tackles and two interceptions across 15 games last season, earning second-team All-American status. At the combine, Thieneman ran a blistering 4.35 40-yard dash with 1.52-second 10-yard split.
How he fits with the Bears: Thieneman will pair with Coby Bryant on the back end of coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense. The Bears needed to bolster their edge rush but decided to take the second safety off the board, perhaps helping Chicago as a versatile piece both in the box, as a centerfielder and in the slot.
Verderame also graded NFL teams’ Day 2 – 3 picks. Here is his overall draft grade for the Bears:
Chicago Bears
Grade: B-
Round 1: No. 25: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
Round 2: No. 57: Logan Jones, C, Iowa
Round 3: No. 69: Sam Roush, TE, Stanford
Round 3: No. 89: Zavion Thomas, WR, LSU
Round 4: No. 124: Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas
Round 5: No. 166: Keyshaun Elliott, LB, Arizona State
Round 6: No. 213: Jordan van den Berg, DT, Georgia Tech
Analysis: Suddenly, the Bears have a versatile group of safeties and plenty of depth in the secondary. Thieneman will partner with free-agent addition Coby Bryant, who found his footing after moving from cornerback to safety in Seattle. If Chicago can find another quality cornerback, this could be one of the league’s better secondaries in 2026. Perhaps Muhammad can fit that need, but he’s going to need to work his way up the depth chart. On the downside, the Bears failed to add more talent on the defensive front. Montez Sweat is their lone reliable edge rusher, and he will turn 30 in September.
Chad Reuter of NFL.Com gives snap draft grades for all NFL teams. Here is his grade for the Bears:
Overall Grade: A-
Per Day Grades:
Day 1: A
Day 2: B+
Day 3: B
Analysis:
Thieneman is an easy fit with the Bears in the first round, because his athleticism, toughness and versatility will fill a hole in the secondary left by departed free agent Kevin Byard. Chicago picked the best center in the draft in Round 2; Jones should remind fans of prior starter Drew Dalman. The trade of veteran receiver DJ Moore to Buffalo puts pressure on 2025 second-round pick Luther Burden III and Thomas, a surprising third-round choice, to replace that production. Roush was a good value in Round 3 as a future starter with solid receiving and blocking skills.
Muhammad’s athleticism and toughness made him a steal in Round 4. Selecting Elliott made sense for the Bears since 2023 fifth-round pick Noah Sewell is recovering from a torn Achilles. Van den Berg, a native of South Africa, is an excellent athlete and meets the team’s need for defensive line depth. The Bears did not use any picks on edge rushers or offensive tackles this year despite their needs at those positions.
Mike Pendelton of Bears Wire rated every Chicago Bears pick. Here is his grade for the First Round:
Grade: A+
Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon (Round 1, Pick 25)
The reason for the perfect grade is because general manager Ryan Poles never got anxious, never felt the need to trade up, and let Dillon Thieneman fall in their laps when he was frequently mocked to not be on the board leading up to the draft. Thieneman’s playmaking ability, excellence in coverage at the safety position, and even more, clean tackling ability will make him a Day 1 starter after being a first-round pick, barring any extreme circumstances. Chicago knew what they needed to get done, and they got a player who wasn’t expected to be there at their selection, it’s a win-win across the board for both sides.
Chris Kwiecinsky of Fox 32 also rated every Bears pick, and he gave the Bears this grade for their selection of Thieneman in the 1st round of the draft:
Grade: A+
No. 25 overall: Dillon Thieneman, S – Oregon
As the draft cycle moved on, it wasn’t clear if the Bears would even have a chance to select Thieneman. His skillset was rated so high that he could have been a top-10 selection.
His skills as a safety are many. He can patrol the box, he can play deep in the back end or he can play near the line of scrimmage. The Bears have plans to use him in a myriad of ways alongside Coby Bryant.
Considering how important Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker were for the Bears in 2025, the tandem of Bryant and Thieneman could produce game-changing plays for a defense that thrived off turnovers last year.
Thankfully for the Bears, the safety position is so undervalued that he slid to No. 25. The Bears’ safety duo has a chance to be as good as it’s been in a long time for the next few years to come.
Here is how PFF’s Draft analyst graded the Chicago Bears’ 2026 draft and analysis of the 1st round pick:
Chicago Bears: B
Picks: 7 | WAA added: 0.675 (Rank 27/32)
Highest-graded pick (2025): S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon Ducks (91)
Thieneman: Thieneman didn’t often make it to Chicago in mock drafts, but the Bears will certainly be happy he was available here. Thieneman earned 89.0-plus PFF grades on multiple defenses — 2023 with Purdue and 2025 with Oregon — and can cover, defend the run and bring high-end athleticism. Given that the Bears came into this draft with a clear need at safety, this is an ideal scenario for Dennis Allen’s defense.
Here is how ESPN’s Mel Kiper graded the Chicago Bears’ 2026 NFL draft selections:
Draft Grade: B
Dillon Thieneman was a great get at No. 25. Coordinator Dennis Allen can move him all over the place — deep safety, in the box, out wide, over the slot. He’s an instinctive player who had a six-interception season in 2023 while still at Purdue (before transferring to Oregon), and he should help make up for some of the on-ball production lost in the free agency exodus in the secondary.
The rest of the class was slightly up and down. Logan Jones — my top-ranked center — looks like the perfect Drew Dalman replacement. Yes, the Bears traded for Garrett Bradbury, but I wanted to see Chicago make a long-term move there, and Jones is already essentially a seasoned pro with 51 career starts. At receiver, general manager Ryan Poles went down the board a little bit for Zavion Thomas; he was a clear Day 3 guy.
Potentially most important in all of this is Chicago not looking at edge rusher or defensive tackle until Jordan van den Berg at No. 213. Chicago needed someone opposite Sweat and didn’t get it, and while I heard some Day 3 sleeper love for van den Berg, he’s a depth guy.
Carter Bahms of CBS Sports grades the Chicago Bears’ 2026 Draft:
Draft Grade: B-
The Bears had not taken a defensive player in the first round since 2018, which was the longest stretch of any team. The expectation was that the streak would end, but the question was whether they would address the defensive front or continue to rebuild their secondary after a free-agent exodus. The latter came to fruition when Dillon Thieneman was available to them at No. 25. He is an immediate starter for a team with a hole at safety. The front, meanwhile, had to wait until Day 3 for help.
Logan Jones is a less conventional pick, to say the least. Renner gave it a “D+” because of Jones’ weaknesses in pass protection. Yes, he will help Chicago maintain its imposing run game and will have time to develop behind Garrett Bradbury. But that makes it even more questionable: Why use second-round capital on a backup center, especially when better options were on the board?
At face value, the Sam Roush pick also looks strange considering Colston Loveland is already on board. But Roush is a blocker by trade and will not step on Loveland’s toes. It’s an excellent acquisition for a team looking to further flex its run-game ability and was the Bears’ best pick of the first three rounds.
And here is how Nate Davis of USA Today saw the Bears draft:
Draft Grade: C
Meh? They’ve been working their board for weeks, including exporting DJ Moore to Buffalo for a second-rounder. GM Ryan Poles maneuvered around further through the weekend. Yet it doesn’t feel like the reigning NFC North champs came away with anyone aside from first-round S Dillon Thieneman who will make much of an impact in 2026. Second-round C Logan Jones is undersized (6-3, 299) but could get a redshirt year before he has to assume a starting role … and it is generally hard to quibble with Iowa O-linemen.
The Sporting News gave the Bears an A, as their 9th-best class.
Analysis: GM Ryan Poles could draft with confidence with his rising playoff team under Ben Johnson. Thieneman and Muhammad give a youthful jolt to keep up the secondary playmaking. Jones might be the missing piece of a strong offensive line. Roush and Thomas give Johnson two more intriguing toys to deploy for Caleb Williams.
What do you think of these draft experts’ grades of the Chicago Bears’ 2026 NFL draft selections? Tell us in the comments below!
