The Chicago Bears made a couple of sensible picks with their first selections in Rounds 1 and 2 of the NFL draft, but circumstances got a bit wonky after that.
The headline for Chicago’s opening two days of the draft, before parsing the details of precisely what they did, is that the Bears failed to add an edge-rusher or a defensive tackle with any of the four picks at their disposal through the first three rounds.
Given that Chicago was among the worst teams in the league both against the run last season and in pass rush win rate as well as quick pressures, the Bears drew questions and criticism from media and fans alike for their draft preferences.
“The Bears are drafting LSU wide receiver Zavion Thomas with the 89th pick,” Courtney Cronin of ESPN posted to X on Friday evening. “That’s it for Chicago’s Day 2 picks. All offense — center, tight end, wide receiver. Ben Johnson’s influence on these roster decisions are very apparent once again. The Bears will have to wait until Round 4 to look for a pass-rusher.”
Cronin’s eyebrow wasn’t the only one that Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles raised on Day 2 of the proceedings.
“Not sure how the #Bears can justify picking three offensive players on Day 2 of the #NFLDraft, finishing with No.89 pick Zavion Thomas, a WR from LSU,” David Haugh of 670 The Score wrote on social media. “Can’t imagine [defensive coordinator] Dennis Allen is happy about this, and it’s fair to wonder why Ryan Poles didn’t move up to draft DE or DT.”
Chicago desperately needs impact players on the defensive line now, which renders the team a likely candidate to be active in post-draft free agency to fill those needs.
Jadeveon Clowney Among Best Pass-Rush Options for Bears
GettyDefensive end Jadeveon Clowney, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys.
Perhaps the best edge-rusher still on the market is Jadeveon Clowney who played for the Dallas Cowboys last season.
“Clowney is another interesting name, even if he’s become a year-to-year journeyman since his days in Cleveland,” Aaron Leming of Windy City Gridiron wrote in late March. “The 33-year-old is a former No. 1 overall pick who has never experienced a 10-sack season, yet has continued to produce at a starting level.”
Clowney tallied 12 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks as well as four defensed passes and a forced fumble. He put up 40 total pressures and 29 QB hurries across 372 total snaps (227 pass-rush snaps) last season, ranking him 18th overall out of 115 qualifying edge defenders based on his total numbers and the positional efficiency they represented, per Pro Football Focus.
After making three Pro Bowls, tallying 66.5 sacks and earning more than $100 million over the course of his 12-year career to this point, Clowney’s market value heading into 2026 is just $5.7 million on a one-season deal.
Ben Johnson’s First 2 Picks in NFL Draft Made Plenty of Sense
GettyHead coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
Chicago filled longterm roster needs by selecting safety Dillon Thieneman of Oregon at No. 25 — after he slipped farther than most analysts projected, namely beyond the Minnesota Vikings at No. 18 and Carolina Panthers at No. 19.
Johnson then picked center Logan Jones out of Iowa at No. 57. Jones is an answer for potentially years to come after the unexpected retirement of Drew Dalman this offseason.
The Bears then traded the 60th choice overall for pick Nos. 69 and 144 from the Tennessee Titans, which isn’t an unreasonable move by any definition, either. However, Chicago drafted tight end Sam Roush out of Stanford at 69 overall despite restructuring Cole Kmet’s contract just hours before.
That is a curious choice, given that trading Kmet would have brought back a mid-round pick, or perhaps two of them, and also cleared nearly $8.5 million in salary cap space for 2026.
It now appears that Chicago will carry a third tight end with some degree of redundancy, though Johnson likes two-TE sets (12 personnel) and may consider more three-TE sets (13 personnel) now that he has the position group to do it.
Then there was the Thomas pick, who has sub-4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash and return potential. However, he went late in Round 3 when several draft analysts had late-round grades on him, including Dane Brugler of The Athletic who had Thomas ranked as a seventh-round pick.
Chicago has four picks remaining at No. 129 in Round 4, No. 144 in Round 5 and Nos. 239 and 241 in Round 7. But even if the Bears select defensive line help in one, or several, of those spots, a player like Clowney in free agency is probably going to remain a necessity.
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