Bears Take a Swing at Edge Rusher Upside in the First Round of Latest Mock Draft

When the Bears have been mocked an edge rusher in the first round, it seems like Missouri edge rusher Zion Young has been the player shipped to them 90% of the time. I've also seen Akheem Mesidor and Keldric Faulk being Chicago's selection, but they're usually off the board by the time the Bears are on the clock.

The connection makes sense. The Bears met with Zion Young on a top-30 visit, after all. He would also be a great addition to help improve their run defense.

However, I don't really like Young's upside as a pass rusher. He doesn't have a lot of moves in his bag, and I'd be surprised to see him develop into a double-digit sack guy in the NFL.

NFL Network host Rhett Lewis has them going a different route in his first mock draft, though. He has them passing up on Young and instead selecting Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker.

"Parker had a down year in terms of production in 2025, but the lengthy Clemson edge rusher showed flashes of brilliance early in his collegiate career and again at the Senior Bowl," Lewis wrote. "He gives the Bears a nice option opposite Montez Sweat."

Parker might not hold his own against the run as well as Young does (although it's not a glaring weakness), but he's got more juice coming off the edge as a pass-rusher. He was one of the most productive pass-rushers in college football two years ago, when he had 11 sacks, 19.5 TFLs, and a conference-high six forced fumbles.

Much like his teammate Peter Woods, Parker was considered a lock to be drafted near the top half of the first round before a relatively disappointing 2025 campaign. However, he doesn't put any of the same red flags on tape that Woods did (lack of effort at times) last season. He still gave his all whenever he was out there; It just didn't result in similar production.

While I would like to see them pass on Young, I also wouldn't love the selection of Parker. They both feel like guys who should be coming off the board early in the second round, rather than late in the first. If Chicago were to land either of them in a trade down, then I'd be a lot more comfortable with the move, but I wouldn't be a fan of drafting them at pick 25.

I know this might be contrary to popular belief, but this is one class where I'd like to see them avoid the edge rusher position in the first round unless Akheem Mesidor is on the board or Ruben Bain/David Bailey somehow falls to a range where it makes sense to trade up for one of them. I don't love the values of the edge rushers who are available late in the first round.

Instead, I would love to see them land one of the top three safeties in the class. Dillon Thieneman, Caleb Downs, and Emmanuel McNeill-Warren would all be great values at 25. The first two players are often on the board in the top 20 of mock drafts, but EMW is often there for the taking (he was selected with the next pick in Lewis' mock).

In that scenario, they'd land a safety with true game-changing upside (to go along with a really solid floor), and they can come back and take their pick from the top edge rushers still on the board with one of their second-rounders. Malachi Lawrence, Gabe Jacas, R Mason Thomas, and Dani Dennis-Sutton might not all perfectly fit the Dennis Allen defensive end mold, but they'd all be really solid options late in the second round.