Bears Linked to Athletic Defender Who Could Surge Up 2026 Draft Boards at NFL Combine

Despite a wildly successful 2025 season, the Chicago Bears’ rebuild under GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson isn’t over yet. Especially along the defensive line.

It’s a position group that will be one of the team’s primary focuses at the 2026 NFL Combine. And it won’t just be on the mainstream names that are making the rounds in pre-Combine mock drafts.

For example, a recent NFL Draft on SI projection identified Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant as an underrated prospect that Chicago should keep tabs on in Indianapolis, and the reasoning makes sense when you evaluate where the Bears still need help.

“The Chicago Bears must get tougher and more athletic at defensive tackle this offseason,” Justin Melo wrote. “ Zane Durant could run a 40-yard dash time under 4.70 if he participates. Durant is super athletic, and he recorded a career-high four sacks this past campaign.”

The hive will be so strong this summer

You want Geno Atkins reincarnated Penn State’s Zane Durant is my favorite IDL pic.twitter.com/w9szSQrBNn
— Malik Wright (@Wrightreportt) January 6, 2026

Durant finished the 2025 season with four sacks, a career high, while adding 25 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Those numbers won’t overwhelm anyone at first glance, but interior disruption rarely shows up cleanly in box scores.

At roughly 290 pounds, he wins with burst and leverage. Durant isn’t built like a traditional 330-pound nose tackle whose primary job is to absorb double teams. Instead, he projects more naturally as a penetrating three-technique, the type of interior defender who stresses guards in one-on-one situations and forces quarterbacks off their launch point.

The best pass-rushing defenses need that kind of interior disruption. Even elite edge defenders lose effectiveness if interior pressure isn’t creating chaos. For Chicago, adding rotational quickness and pass-rush upside inside would help on obvious passing downs.

The NFL Combine will be critical for Durant. If he actually clocks a sub-4.70 40-yard dash, his stock could rise quickly. For a defensive tackle, straight-line speed isn’t everything, but that kind of verified explosiveness will make every coaching staff line up for him.

Durant isn’t being hyped as a top-10 pick. He’s being labeled as a prospect who could outperform his draft slot, which is currently projected to be an early-Day-3 guy. And Poles has a knack for finding exactly that kind of guy.

The Chicago Bears need more interior juice. Zane Durant might be one of the more intriguing answers hiding in plain sight as the 2026 NFL Draft process unfolds.