Dane Brugler's Bears Pick in New Mock Draft is Just What Doctor Ordered for Chicago

Dane Brugler's seven-round mock draft gives the Chicago Bears the exact kind of player their defense needs.

Clemson defensive lineman TJ Parker. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears need help at multiple defensive spots ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, and one of them is edge rusher.

You know the story: the Bears are good on one side with Montez Sweat, but Dayo Odeyingbo is anything but certain to provide the support on the other side a contending team like Chicago needs.

Not only was he bad in 2025, he suffered a torn Achilles after eight games and may even be a shell of the lackluster player we saw in his first year with the Bears, as players aren't always themselves coming back from such an injury.

For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that's not going to cut it and the Bears simply cannot depend on Austin Booker to pick up the slack the way Chicago will need if Odeyingbo doesn't get going in 2026.

Dane Brugler makes great pick for Bears

Clemson Tigers defensive end T.J. Parker (3) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Playoff First Round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

In his latest seven-round mock draft, The Athletic's Dane Brugler has the Bears taking Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker with the No. 25 overall pick. Here's Brugler's thoughts on the selection:

"The Bears have the edge rushers to line up today and play competitive football, but they would love to add another talented pass rusher to their rotation. Parker didn’t quite have the 2025 season many expected, but his motor and leveraged power led to disruption against the pass and run."

As Brugler notes, Parker did see a downtick in sacks last season, going from 11 to five. The good news is, his tape shows a player who can make a major impact at the next level and college stats don't always determine how successful a prospect will be.

More than just sacks

Clemson Tigers defensive end T.J. Parker. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Yes, the Bears need more sacks, as evidenced by the team finishing tied for the seventh-fewest in the league last season. But, lest we forget, Chicago was awful in run defense, also, to the tune of the sixth-worst unit in the NFL.

Parker can actually check two boxes for Chicago. As Brugler notes, he was impressive against the run during his days at Clemson, also.

Over three seasons, Parker posted run defense grades of 83.2, 79.4 and 77.5, according to Pro Football Focus. All of those are well above average.

The Clemson product also tallied a whopping 41.5 tackles for loss during his career with the Tigers, which further shows his ability to penetrate and impact the ground game off the edge.

In this day and age, versatility is everything and grabbing a three-down edge rusher like Parker would be an ideal get for the Bears in Round 1.