Bears Meet With Top Prospect Kayden McDonald at NFL Combine

The Chicago Bears have officially met with Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald in Indianapolis at the 2026 NFL Combine. This is a significant meeting because McDonald is widely expected to be a first-round selection in the 2026 NFL draft, and the Bears' biggest weakness before free agency kicks off is the defensive line. Are the Bears looking at McDonald as the answer to their defensive line woes?

I included McDonald in my list of the top six Chicago Bears prospects for the 2026 NFL draft because he's a dominant run stuffer, and the Bears' run defense is still a mess. In each of the last two seasons, they have surrendered over 130 rushing yards per game. In fact, it could be argued that shoring up the run defense will be even more important to the Bears in 2026 than getting better at rushing the passer. Playoff games are often decided by who can stop the run and make the other team one-dimensional on offense.

How can McDonald help the Bears do that? Bears' reporter Greg Braggs asked McDonald what he's looking at in the run game to try to get an edge before the snap. McDonald said, "Looking at the personnel [of the offense], down and distance. I'm that type of guy who welcomes double-teams, I command double-teams, and I'm going to free up the linebackers. Whatever team decides to get me, that's what you're going to get."

DT Kayden McDonald talks about meeting with the Bears⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XYdtMuYjie
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) February 25, 2026

McDonald checks all the boxes for the Bears

When you look at McDonald's draft profile, he seems to be the ideal fit for the Bears. At just 20-years-old, he's one of the youngest prospects in the draft, which means that, as good as he already is, there's still a great deal of untapped potential. As aforementioned, McDonald is a dominant run stuffer. In his own words, there's nothing he loves more than taking on a double-team, which frees up the linebackers. He didn't bring a whole lot to the table in terms of rushing the passer while at Ohio State, but that's something he can learn along his NFL journey.

Also, Ryan Poles may have given us a clue about the Bears' draft plan, which suggests that McDonald will be high on their draft board. While speaking to the media on Tuesday, Poles acknowledged that, as of right now, it looks like this year's draft class of defensive ends is deeper than that of defensive tackles. If that holds, then it would stand to reason that Poles would be more likely to target a defensive tackle like McDonald in the first round.

It's still a long way to draft night, but it's looking more and more like McDonald and the Bears are a match that both sides would like to see come to fruition.

The more I watch Kayden McDonald, the more I hope The #Bears can land him at #25

Run stopping machine, good size vs. interior OL, and gets pressure on the QB up the middle pic.twitter.com/LDvZ97S5uS
— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@JAYChi_Bears) February 25, 2026

The Bottom Line

Unlike last year, there appears to be more clarity in what Chicago will do with their first-round selection. The free agency class this year is nothing to write home about, which means the answer to Chicago's defensive line woes will almost certainly have to come in the draft, and McDonald is arguably the best fit for Dennis Allen's defense.

Unless McDonald is drafted well ahead of where he's expected to go, I would expect him to be Poles' selection on draft night, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Poles tries to trade up a few spots to ensure he can get him.

Kayden McDonal — Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

McDonald checks all the boxes for the Bears

The Bottom Line

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