Bear Digest

New 2026 NFL Draft Grades Should be a Warning for Chicago Bears

If ESPN's latest draft grades prove accurate, the Bears will have a problem in the 2026 NFL draft.
Pete Martuneac|
Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Thanks to the Chicago Bears' 2025 awakening on offense, general manager Ryan Poles finds himself in uncharted territory: his first pick in the upcoming NFL draft will not be in the Top 20 selections. As a matter of fact, this is the first year since 2011 in which the Bears will not be selecting within the first twenty picks. Bears fans will have to adjust as they wait longer than usual on draft night to see who the newest Bear will be.

Armed with the No. 25 overall pick, Ryan Poles has some options. In fact, there are six Chicago Bears prospects for the 2026 NFL draft that would likely be hits. However, the draft is always a crapshoot, especially for teams picking later in the first round. It's hard to hit on these later picks, and now the Bears face a compounding problem: there may not be a single prospect worthy of a first-round selection by the time they're on the clock.

Matt Miller, an NFL draft analyst for ESPN, recently revealed every prospect in the 2026 NFL draft with a first-round grade, and the number is shockingly low. According to Miller's grade, only 11 prospects are worth a Top 32 selection. In the 2025 NFL draft, Miller had 13 prospects with a first-round grade, which was the lowest number he'd ever recorded. This 2026 class is shaping up to be even worse.

With the Bears sitting at No. 25, these 11 players will almost certainly be off the board by the time Chicago is on the clock, but it gets worse. The defensive line is the biggest position of need for the Bears, and not only did zero defensive tackles earn a first-round grade, but the two defensive ends who did (David Bailey and Ruben Bain Jr.) are locks to be drafted within the first ten picks.

This problem is a good problem for Ryan Poles

This is a natural consequence of being a good football team. The home run prospects are all long gone by the time playoff teams find themselves on the clock, and they need to trust their scouting reports and their instincts if they're going to find impact players. It's a good problem to have. For Bears fans, they can take solace in the fact that Ryan Poles' 2025 draft class was an absolute masterclass of finding top-tier talent in multiple rounds.

Colston Loveland was considered by many draft analysts, including yours truly, to be the wrong pick for the Chicago Bears. He ended up being Pro Football Focus' top graded rookie of 2025. Ozzy Trapilo looked like a franchise left tackle until his truly unfortunate injury at the end of the Bears' Wild Card victory over Green Bay. Luther Burden III and even seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai both ended the year looking like budding stars at their positions.

The Bottom Line

Simply put, the duo of Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles has, in just one year, earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to finding and developing talent in the NFL draft. It may be tougher this year than it was in 2025 to hit on their picks, but Bears fans should relax, trust the plan, and let things play out on the field before having any major draft reactions.

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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