With the dust now settled from the NFL offseason and teams starting to re-gather for offseason programs, we have a better idea now of what the league looks like heading into the 2026-27 season.
And the Chicago Bears’ outlook so far, much like it was in the second half of last season, keeps on looking up.
ESPN’s latest power rankings for their upcoming campaign had the Bears actually increasing their standing following the 2026 NFL Draft, jumping up to No.9 from the 11th spot in their previous offering.
Not bad for a team that didn’t do enough to improve its defensive line in most people’s eyes. (Well, everyone’s, really.)
One position they did improve dramatically, though, was safety, according to ESPN’s Bears beat writer Courtney Cronin.
“The Bears revamped their back seven this offseason, particularly at safety. Once Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker left in free agency, the team’s biggest splash came by signing Coby Bryant to a three-year, $40 million deal. One month later, Chicago used the No. 25 pick on Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman. The Bears lost Byard’s league-leading seven interceptions, but they got younger, rangier and faster on the back end this offseason,” she wrote of the Bears’ offseason additions at safety.
On top of that, Chicago also nabbed cornerback Malik Muhammad and linebacker Keyshaun Elliott on Day 3 to improve the back seven further. At the very least, the Bears will be able to fly around and cover even if they can’t get to the quarterback or stop the run, right?
Let’s be honest: no one’s thinking of the Bears as a potential top-10 team in the league because of their defense. It’s because of the offense Ben Johnson has built around Caleb Williams, who will look to ascend into a true MVP-caliber player in his third season.
The addition of second-round pick Logan Jones may well help the Bears recover from the loss of Drew Dalman, who retired this offseason. Plus, the strong young pass-catching corps of Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Colston Loveland, as well as supporting players like Cole Kmet, Khalif Raymond, and running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, are basically intact.
If Williams continues taking his game to the next level under Johnson’s tutelage, No. 9 on the power rankings list is going to seem laughable by November.
For now, though, it looks like the team’s perplexing Day 2 choices in the draft haven’t turned experts off to their outlook.
