Chicago Bears Rookies With the Most to Gain at Training Camp

When the Chicago Bears begin training camp later this month, there will be several rookies looking to garner roles for themselves.

The spotlight will be on Chicago's seven-man 2026 NFL Draft class that features one player who should be locked into a role already: first-round pick and safety Dillon Thieneman, who was running with the ones at minicamp.

While every rookie on the roster has something to gain at training camp, there are three in particular with the most to gain.

Zavion Thomas

Thomas showed out during the spring, which was a great jumping off point for his quest to garner a role on offense out of the gate.

However, doing what Thomas did during OTAs and minicamp while running around in shorts and a t-shirt pales in comparison to doing it with full pads on at training camp.

If Thomas can recreate his success in that scenario while also showing he has a strong grasp of the playbook, something his general manager, Ryan Poles, admitted was key to playing time, the rookie could push for WR3 snaps. Thomas also has an opportunity to garner looks in the return game.

If the opposite happens and Thomas struggles, his snaps could be extremely limited to start the season.

Logan Jones

The Bears appeared to be set at center earlier this offseason when they traded for Garrett Bradbury in the wake of the unexpected retirement of Drew Dalman.

However, the draft selection of Jones in the second round no doubt made things more interesting and now the rookie is expected to compete with the veteran for the starting job.

While we anticipate Bradbury's experience winning out, it's not like he's unbeatable and there is a very real possibility that Jones can supplant him before Week 1 rolls around.

Malik Muhammad

Like Jones, Muhammad finds himself in a competition for a starting job.

With the departure of Nahshon Wright, the Bears are slated to rely on Tyrique Stevenson for a starting job, which is a problem because Stevenson got himself benched last season.

Maybe Stevenson rebounds and goes on to have a good season, but that's not something we're willing to bet on, especially after he had some struggles during the spring.

Muhammad figures to be the only thing standing in the way of the Bears finding out. If he fails to beat out Stevenson, Muhammad will start the year as a backup and that could lead to a harsh dose of déjà vu for Chicago at the CB2 spot in 2026.

Add us as a preferred source on Google