Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is upon us. While it’s arguably the most exciting day of workouts to watch as the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers hit the field, it’s also arguably the one the Bears need to pay the least attention to.
Rather, it’s more the positions that the Bears need the least amount of help at. That said, there’s plenty of opportunity for Chicago to find depth for their offense after a skill position-heavy approach to last year’s draft. There’s a chance somebody
performing today ends up suiting up alongside the likes of Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai this fall.
With general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson among Chicago’s representatives at the Combine, here’s a look at the state of each position on the Bears’ roster, as well as my top 10 prospects at each spot in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks
Top 10 quarterbacks
The Bears are in a fortunate enough situation to not need to spend significant draft capital on a quarterback. Caleb Williams is coming off a strong 2025 season, earmarking him as the future of the franchise for years to come.
Fernando Mendoza is a foregone conclusion to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Ty Simpson is really the only other quarterback worthy of being in first-round conversation. Much of the quarterbacks past that range fall into the backup territory, which could be a pool Chicago dips its toes into.
Teams appear to be doing their research on Tyson Bagent as a potential trade piece. Though the Bears have him locked down under contract as their backup quarterback, there’s an outside chance another team gets desperate enough for a quarterback that they offer up premier draft capital to acquire him.
From there, Chicago would likely look to draft a quarterback, in addition to presumably bringing Case Keenum back for another year. The sweet spot to me in this class at quarterback comes around Round 5. Players like Luke Altmyer, Cole Payton, and Cade Klubnik don’t project as much more than backups, but I like all of them for very different reasons.
- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
- Ty Simpson, Alabama
- Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
- Carson Beck, Miami (FL)
- Drew Allar, Penn State
- Luke Altmyer, Illinois
- Cole Payton, North Dakota State
- Cade Klubnik, Clemson
- Sawyer Robertson, Baylor
- Taylen Green, Arkansas
Running backs
As free agency draws near, the expectation is that the Bears will stick with their running back tandem of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai in 2026. The bounce-back from Swift and the breakout rookie year from Monangai provides a huge sigh of relief for Chicago, as that means they don’t have to spend big at the running back position this offseason.
Jeremiyah Love is the only running back worthy of taking in the first round in this class, and there’s practically no chance he falls to the Bears at No. 25 overall. Otherwise, you’re probably looking at a Day 3 selection as the form of investment Chicago makes at the position, if they draft a running back at all. They’re more likely to push Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer for competition than either of their two primary backs.
The 2026 draft is honestly a pretty underwhelming running back year. There are probably three backs I’d consider taking on Day 2 other than Love, but it’s mostly Day 3 flyers from there. As is the case at running back, there’s always a chance a few selections on Day 3 end up turning into starters, and there are a good handful of toolsy backs with starter-level traits, even if they haven’t put it all together yet.
Top 10 running backs
- Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
- Jadarian Price, Notre Dame
- Jonah Coleman, Washington
- Emmett Johnson, Nebraska
- Kaytron Allen, Penn State
- Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
- Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas
- J’Mari Taylor, Virginia
- Adam Randall, Clemson
- Nicholas Singleton, Penn State
Wide receivers
After the Bears’ selection of Luther Burden III in the second round of last year’s draft, they seem to have an intriguing young wide receiver duo between him and Rome Odunze. The latter missed time due to injury but demonstrated some strong flashes in Year 2, and the expectation will be for those flashes to materialize into more production in 2026.
Speculation surrounding the Bears trading veteran DJ Moore picked up closer to the Combine, and it’s a move that would make sense as the team looks to clear cap space to boost their defense. However, even as Moore’s production dipped in 2025, he’s still a solid starting option whose absence would be felt, as Chicago doesn’t have a proven third wide receiver on the roster currently.
The Bears could try to bring back Olamide Zaccheaus or try Jahdae Walker in a bigger role in the second year of his NFL career. However, don’t be surprised if they make another draft pick at wide receiver this year, too. The sweet spot of this year’s class is late in Round 2 and early in Round 3, where I see several strong options to blossom into complementary starting receivers. That may be a little steep for Chicago to invest at receiver again this year, but there should also be good value around Round 5 this year, too.
Top 10 wide receivers
- Carnell Tate, Ohio State
- Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
- Makai Lemon, USC
- Denzel Boston, Washington
- Kevin Concepcion, Texas A&M
- Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
- Germie Bernard, Alabama
- Antonio Williams, Clemson
- Malachi Fields, Notre Dame
- Zachariah Branch, Georgia
