Bears land consensus All-American in latest 2026 NFL mock draft

Fans of the Chicago Bears may be focused on their upcoming rematch with the Green Bay Packers, but sooner or later this season will be over, and all eyes will turn to the biggest event of the offseason: the NFL draft. Bears' general manager Ryan Poles nailed his 2025 draft class by adding two weapons in Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III, while also adding a solid left tackle in Ozzy Trapilo.

Hopefully, his success in the 2025 NFL draft means that Poles has finally figured out how to draft well; the Bears need to find immediate contributors in the 2026 NFL draft if they want to remain competitive. They're already hard up against the salary cap for next season and still have important players they should consider extending, like Kevin Byard.

In the latest 2026 NFL mock draft from Sports Illustrated, Poles does, in fact, land a prospect who could make an immediate impact for Chicago with the 25th overall selection: Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.

Kayden McDonal — Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Daniel Flick, an NFL draft analyst for Sports Illustrated, lays out a compelling case for McDonald to be Chicago's next first-round draft selection: "The Bears and McDonald are a tremendous marriage of scheme fit, team need and player skill set. Chicago has the 10th-worst run defense in the league, allowing 126.6 rushing yards per game, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen needs a bigger body on the interior. McDonald, at 6' 3" and 326 pounds, is one of the best run stoppers in the class."

Bears may have bigger needs than stopping the run

That's all well and good, but I actually don't think Chicago's run defense is as bad as the stats make it look. They're indeed giving up 126.6 rushing yards per game, but they've also been plagued by injuries to defensive starters. All three starting linebackers have missed significant time, and slot cornerback Kyler Gordon, who's been instrumental in Chicago's run defense, has played in just three games.

The fact is, we haven't seen Dennis Allen's defense at full strength yet, so I think it's premature to say that a run stopper is the Bears' biggest need in 2026. However, there's no debate that Chicago needs more talent on the defensive line, and McDonald also offers upside in the passing game, too. He can collapse a pocket just as easily as plug up a running lane, and that helps the defensive ends get home.

While this pick wouldn't exactly knock my socks off, I'd grade it at a solid 'B' for the Bears. It fills a need with a high-floor player, and it's hard to get upset about that.

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