Ranking Every Chicago Bears Position Group By Overall Talent and Depth

Now that the dust has settled following free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, we're ranking every Chicago Bears position group before the team's minicamp.

Chicago Bears tight ends Colston Loveland (84) and Cole Kmet. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears' offseason hasn't exactly gone the way many fans envisioned it going.

Entering the offseason, the Bears had some very clear needs on the defensive side of the ball, and namely at edge rusher and the interior of the defensive line. That led many to believe the Bears would attack those positions aggressively.

Instead, Chicago didn't add any edge rushers, either through free agency or the draft, and they only signed Neville Gallimore and drafted a sixth-round lineman to address the interior of the defensive line.

While that doesn't leave us feeling good about the Bears, they at least remain in good shape on the offensive side of the ball — and that's reflected in our Bears position group rankings, with four of the top-five spots being owned by Ben Johnson's offense.

Bears position group rankings

Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

1. Tight end

Colston Loveland is a budding superstar after a strong finish to last season and Cole Kmet would be the TE1 on a lot of teams throughout the league. If Sam Roush can develop quickly and make an immediate impact, this room will be even better.

2. Running back

The combination of D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai was quietly one of the best running back duos in the NFL in 2025. With Swift bringing the explosiveness and Monangai bringing the power, Chicago has a perfect complement in its backfield.

3. Quarterback

While Caleb Williams hasn't fully cemented himself quite yet, he took a big step in the right direction in 2025 and we'd bet on him earning a massive extension. Chicago's room also includes two capable backups in Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum.

4. Offensive line

The Bears did a good job replacing Drew Dalman with a plug-and-play starter in Garrett Bradbury, and there's also the potential that Logan Jones could be even better than the veteran. While Braxton Jones is a question mark at left tackle, he should be fine and the Bears are in good to great shape at every other spot upfront.

5. Linebacker

The Bears made significant changes to this position group in 2026, cutting Tremaine Edmunds and adding someone who we believe is an upgrade in Devin Bush. If T.J. Edwards can get back healthy and D'Marco Jackson continues to ascend, this could be one of the better linebacker units in the NFL.

6. Cornerback

Health was a major issue for Bears cornerbacks last season, but we still believe Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon are top-notch boundary and slot cornerbacks. The big question mark is across from Johnson, where the disappointing Tyrique Stevenson will compete against rookie Malik Muhammad for a starting job.

7. Safety

It isn't often a team loses two starters at a position and comes away in good shape. Coby Bryant is a strong starting option and Dillon Thieneman has all the makings of a star. Chicago even has solid depth with Cam Lewis. Our only concern here is Thieneman who, despite his talent, is still a wild card as a rookie in Year 1.

8. Specialists

Cairo Santos remains a good kicker, but his field goal success rate has gone down in each of the past two years and he doesn't have a big leg. Tory Taylor hasn't lived up to his fourth-round billing, but Chicago reaching for him isn't his fault and Taylor has been good enough. The biggest concern among the specialists is the Bears don't have a locked-in long snapper yet.

9. Wide Receiver

We love the promise in this group with Rome Odunze and Luther Burden at the top, but we need to see more from them before we cement them as two locked-in, long-term starters. With guys like Kalif Raymond, Scotty Miller, Jahdae Walker and Zavion Thomas competing for the WR3 and WR4 positions, we'd love to see the Bears add another veteran receiver to the mix.

10. Edge Rusher

One of the most important position groups in the NFL is also one of the Bears' weakest. Chicago is in good shape on one side with Montez Sweat, but instead of doing anything to address the edge rusher spot in 2026, the Bears are banking on question marks on the other side to elevate a pass-rush that mustered up just the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL last season.

Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner are all vying for snaps, but Turner and Odeyingbo were bad last season and both are coming back from significant injuries, and Booker was promising with 4.5 sacks in 2025 but remains unproven.

11. Interior Defensive Line

The Bears sported one of the worst run defenses in the NFL last season and there was no pass-rush up the middle outside of Gervon Dexter.

The Bears' solution was adding Neville Gallimore and using a sixth-round pick on the position. That's not what we were expecting going into the offseason, but here we are.