Full 7-Round 2026 NFL Mock Draft Sees Bears Trade Out of First Round

With the first week of NFL free agency over, and with ESPN insider Adam Schefter declaring the Chicago Bears 'out of money' for a Maxx Crosby trade, we're unlikely to see any more big roster changes for the Bears until the 2026 NFL draft in April. Any glaring roster holes that remain will almost certainly have to be filled by a rookie. While that's far from ideal, general manager Ryan Poles' smashing success with his 2025 NFL draft class should give Bears fans hopes.

With that in mind, and with the draft barely more than a month away, it's time for a full seven-round mock draft. For this exercise, I have the Bears making calls about a potential trade-back scenario as they try to add picks in the Top 100 to take advantage of a deep class that's not quite as top heavy as in prior years.

The Las Vegas Raiders, who are almost certainly going to pick Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall and surround him with as much talent as they can, bite at the chance to move back into the first round and add another playmaker. They send the Bears their second and third-round picks in exchange for Chicago's first and fourth-round picks. According to Drafttek's NFL trade value chart, this is a fairly equal trade with the Bears coming out slightly ahead.

After this trade, the Raiders selected Alabama's mammoth left tackle Kadyn Proctor to protect their rookie quarterback. Here's what the Bears do with their new selections.

2.36 (via LV) Lee Hunter - Defensive Tackle, Texas Tech

Luckily for the Bears, the 2026 NFL draft is considered to be a deep one at their biggest positions of need, and that includes defensive tackle. Lee Hunter helped anchor one of the best defensive lines in the nation in 2025, and at No. 36 overall is a great value pick for Chicago. Don't let a shockingly poor NFL Combine performance make you forget Hunter's dominance at the Senior Bowl, where he proved to be nearly unstoppable while going up against some of the best NFL draft prospects.

He'll be an older rookie at 24-years-old by the time training camp starts, but he brings plenty of experience to the table and could be an immediate starter, which is exactly what Chicago needs.

Lee Hunter IDL from Texas Tech is a big man who refuses to be moved. pic.twitter.com/37nLeX9rCQ
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) January 27, 2026

2.57 Gabe Jacas - Defensive End, Illinois

If defensive coordinator Dennis Allen could build his ideal defensive end, Gabe Jacas would be the result. He's got great size at six-foot-four and 260 pounds, plus 33-inch arms and 10-inch hands. He consistently plays through the whistle with a violent demeanor, but his status as an Illinois team captain proves that he's also a thoughtful leader and a smart defender. I could see Jacas immediately challenging Austin Booker for the DE2 spot in training camp.

2.60 (via BUF) Josiah Trotter - Linebacker, Missouri

The Bears took a big swing at replacing Tremaine Edmunds, reaching a $30 million agreement with Devin Bush in free agency, but there's a decent chance that it doesn't work out. The Bears need to double-dip at this position, and Missouri's Josiah Trotter is a great candidate at this point in the draft. His coverage skills need work, but I trust Dennis Allen to coach him up in that regard. He brings good size to the table at six-foot-two and 237 pounds, and he's fantastic on the blitz.

3.67 (via LV) Sam Hecht - Center, Kansas State

The Bears took a closer look at their potential Drew Dalman replacement at Kansas State's pro day, reportedly sending a large contingent to observe center Sam Hecht. He's a bit undersized and won't blow anyone away with his strength or raw power, but Hecht is ruthlessly efficient. He has A+ technique in pass protection, always combining solid footwork with strong hands and accurate placement, and he's fast in his run blocking assignments. He's a smart, reliable center who could be Chicago's long-awaited franchise center.

3.89 Zakee Wheatley - Safety, Penn State

I think the Bears should have tried harder to retain Jaquan Brisker, but what's done is done. Luckily, the perfect replacement for Brisker should be available for them in the third round of the NFL draft, and he even comes from Brisker's school: Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley. He projects as a strong safety, which would complement Chicago's new free safety Coby Bryant perfectly. He's a big guy who loves coming downhill to attack in the run game, and he just needs a little coaching up on his tackling technique.

7.239 Mason Reiger - Defensive End, Wisconsin

We already know that Ryan Poles likes to take flyers on local guys, so how about a defensive lineman who grew up less than an hour from Halas Hall? Reiger spent three years with Louisville before transferring to Wisconsin for the 2025 CFB season and showed a lot of NFL potential. He could stand to add a little more mass, but his athleticism is elite, earning him a 9.53 RAS at the NFL Combine. With a little coaching up, he could be a solid rotational piece on the D-line.

7.241 J. Michael Sturdivant - Receiver, Florida

Another freak athlete worth a seventh-round flyer is Florida's wide receiver, J. Michael Sturdivant. Standing six-foot-three and weighing 207 pounds, Sturdivant ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and posted a 39" vertical jump and a ten-foot-eleven broad jump, culminating in a nearly perfect 9.96 RAS.

His college production is nothing to write home about, but the Bears wouldn't be drafting him to lead a passing attack, anyway. Adding elite size and athleticism is a pretty good bet to make at this point in the draft, and I trust Bears receiver coach Antwaan Randle El to get the most out of this kind of limitless potential.