Bears' Jager Burton Visit Shows Ryan Poles has Potential Plan for Life After Bradbury

The Chicago Bears found themselves in a pickle early this offseason. Their dominant offensive line from 2025 had already lost one member for most of 2026, left tackle Ozzy Trapilo. Things only got worse after Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman's shocking retirement in March, just days before the start of free agency. General manager Ryan Poles acted quickly to plug that hole, trading for center Garrett Bradbury to replace Dalman, but many fans and analysts expected the Bears to add another center in the 2026 NFL draft.

One of the latest player visits to Halas Hall confirms that the Bears indeed have an eye on the center class in this year's draft. NFL insider Ian Rapoport tweeted on Monday afternoon that Kentucky center Jager Burton had visits with the Bengals, Titans, and Bears. He's visited with other teams as well, and Rapoport said of Burton, "A likely Day 2 pick."

Burton would be a long-term developmental piece rather than an immediate impact player

Jager Burto — Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

I'm not sure I agree with Rapoport that Burton is a Day 2 pick, nor does much of the NFL draft community. In Dane Brugler's annual draft guide, known as The Beast and widely considered the gold standard of pre-draft scouting, Burton is ranked as the No. 9 center prospect, and he is just the 190th overall prospect in Brugler's Top 300 prospect rankings. Jordan Reid, an NFL draft analyst for ESPN, had Burton going to Tampa Bay with the 229th overall pick in his latest seven-round 2026 NFL mock draft.

Rapoport could be right, but I expect Burton to be available when the Bears are on the clock in the seventh round. He's got great size and showed impressive athleticism at the NFL Combine, but his footwork, stance, and handwork all need substantial coaching up before he's ready to handle an NFL defensive line.

The 2026 NFL draft has plug-and-play center options

It makes sense for the Bears to be looking for a long-term answer at center. Bradbury is a stopgap measure at best, which is why the Patriots were willing to trade him in the first place. But there are prospects in the draft who could be both a long-term solution as well as an impact starter in 2026. Kansas State's Sam Hecht is one such player. He is the No. 2 center in Brugler's prospect rankings, the 92nd overall prospect, and we know that the Bears took a closer look at him as a potential Drew Dalman replacement at Kansas State's pro day.

Florida's Jake Slaughter and Iowa's Logan Jones are two other options who have been linked to the Bears ahead of the 2026 NFL draft, and all three could likely be drafted in Round 3 or Round 4. Unlike Burton, however, all three could potentially be ready to start early in the 2026 season. And when you consider how critical the 2026 season is for a team that's fighting to restore its reputation as a force to be reckoned with in the NFL, the sooner they can move off of Bradbury at center, the better.

The Bottom Line

I think Burton would be a good fit for the Bears, and I trust that offensive line coach Dan Roushar could maximize his potential in the NFL. However, I'm not a fan of rolling into 2026 with Bradbury as the unquestioned starter at center, even if it's just for one year; drafting Burton would almost certainly guarantee Bradbury a starting job for the season. With the Bears needing Caleb Williams to take the next step in his development, I'm not sure that this is the wisest course of action.

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google