Four Bold Predictions for the Chicago Bears' 2026 NFL Draft Class

The 2026 NFL draft saw a lot of firsts and historic picks for the Chicago Bears. Their highly graded selection of Dillon Thieneman marked the first time since 1990 that the Bears had drafted a safety in the first round, and the Jordan van den Berg pick in Round 6 marked the first time in NFL history that a South African-born player heard his name called in the NFL draft.

Historic picks are nice, but that doesn't guarantee that these rookies will be difference makers for the Bears. They still have to prove themselves on the field once football is played. With that in mind, here are four bold predictions for Chicago's 2026 rookie class.

1. Dillon Thieneman will be a rookie Pro Bowler

Let's start with a take that's about as bold as it gets. Yes, Thieneman is going to be a Pro Bowler in his very first NFL season. He's such a tremendous athlete, and he understands the game of football at a higher level than anyone else his age. He's going to be an immediate impact starter for Chicago and keep the interceptions coming. By the end of the year, award voters will have no choice but to name Thieneman a Pro Bowler.

2. Logan Jones will be named the starting center before the preseason begins

If you followed my mock drafts this year, then you know how high I was on Logan Jones and how excited I am to see him become a member of the Chicago Bears. He's a brilliant technician in pass pro and a brutal road grader in the run game, and his 51 starts in the best conference in college football mean that he's pro-ready right from the start.

The Bears traded for center Garrett Bradbury to replace Drew Dalman last month, but he should make sure to find a comfortable spot on the bench. Jones is a better NFL center than Bradbury is right now, and by mid-August he'll have proven to the coaches that he's their starting center for 2026 and beyond.

3. No offensive rookies will score a touchdown this year

Not every bold prediction can be a good one, right? As much as I liked this draft class as a whole, I didn't love the offensive selections outside of Logan Jones. Roush is apparently an elite blocking tight end and will help open up Ben Johnson's offense, I'm sure. But I can't imagine a rookie TE3 on the depth chart getting any redzone targets.

As for receiver Zavion Thomas, I still don't understand the thinking behind that selection. Thomas was expected to be a late Day 3 guy at best, most likely an undrafted free agent, but the Bears made him the No. 89 pick. It just feels too similar to the Velus Jones Jr. pick back in 2022, and he ended up on my list of Ryan Poles' most brutal draft misses. I would be stunned to see Thomas in the endzone at any point this year.

4. Keyshaun Elliott will end the year with five sacks

One of the most underrated picks in the entire 2026 NFL draft was linebacker Keyshaun Elliott at No. 166. Many draft analysts had him as a Top 5 linebacker in this class, and even Dane Brugler of The Athletic, author of The Beast, which is the gold standard of NFL draft scouting guides, had Elliott as a Top 100 player.

With Chicago's linebacker room going through a transition period, I wouldn't be surprised to see Elliott get much more work than your typical fifth-round rookie. In fact, I see him picking up five sacks this year on blitzing downs. He registered seven sacks in his final season with Arizona State, so five should be doable, even as a rookie.

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