Bear Digest

This Bears Mock Draft 1.0 Gifts Chicago Third-Round Pick Stolen by NFL

A Chicago Bears mock draft 1.0 in 2026 with an additional third-round pick thrown in after the league decided to renege on Rooney Rule promise.
Gene Chamberlain|
Georgia Christen Miller (52) and safety Zion Branch get the tackle. Miller's run-stopping ability makes him an ideal Bears pick if the top two or three defensive tackls in the draft are gone.
Georgia Christen Miller (52) and safety Zion Branch get the tackle. Miller's run-stopping ability makes him an ideal Bears pick if the top two or three defensive tackls in the draft are gone. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

These extra third-round draft picks the Bears should be getting for the next two years, according to NFL rules, are still irritating Bears fans.

They supposedly won't get the picks because Ian Cunningham took a job as GM where there is a higher personnel authority in Matt Ryan, with the newly created president of football. Although, it is Cunningham doing everything the personnel boss does and with all the authority. And this is according to Ryan and not some NFL office bureaucratic mumbo jumbo.

It's the time of year when mock drafts kick into high gear. And by gosh, Bears fans are going to get that third-round pick for this year if I have anything to say about it. At least they will in my first postseason mock draft for 2026.

They get that third-round pick the NFL is trying to cheating them out of, and it wasn't easy. Think of this like Capt. Kirk cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test at Star Fleet Academy.

Basically, I'm not going to let the league get away with ruining my mock draft 1.0.

The mock draft simulator used for doing mocks doesn't allow for tampering with the order of selection in this way. So, I traded a third-round pick and seventh-rounder for next year to Jacksonville, which has the last pick in Round 3.

That wasn't very realistic, but let's face it, there is no next year in the mock draft simulator. Next year doesn't really exist. There are no consequences. It's just stupid AI, just like it is stupid bureaucratic oafs in the NFL office keeping the Bears from what they should be getting.

The only problem here is Jacksonville loses its third-round pick but that's their problem. Sorry Du-val. You have to pay for cheaters in the NFL office and dullards in Atlanta in this mock.

It's Bears On SI 2026 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 and the Bears are on the clock.

DT Christen Miller, Georgia

No. 25, Round 1

First off, you can never go wrong with a Georgia defensive player it is often said. Well, that's especially the case if other top defensive tackles were gone. Peter Woods, Caleb Banks and Kayden McDonald were all taken. There were a few defensive ends but folks, if the Bears don't stop the run next year they will have a losing record no matter what Caleb Williams does. The pass rush will improve with better down-and-distance situations for the rush, and because they'll go sign Trey Hendrickson or find another suitable situational type veteran free agent to help the rush, they'll be fine.

Austin Booker actually projected as a nine- or 10-sack guy if he had been healthy in the first half of the season. They need a run stopper to make up for Gervon Dexter's failures. Miller was top 7.5% in run-stop win rate last year at his position. He was top 9.8% in run-stop grade according to Pro Football Focus. He was top 30% in pass rush grade for DTs, and at 310 he is not some morbidly obese plug but an athletic tackle in the Dennis Allen scheme mold. The highest graded player here at the time was tackle Caleb Lomu but I'd rather have a Georgia defender than a Utah tackle.

RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

No. 57, Round 2

Yes, the mock draft simulator mocked me for making this the second Bears pick when there are other needs. Ben Johnson won't see it the same way, I believe. D'Andre Swift was fine for last year. He is in the final year of his deal. Price is not only a speed demon who returns kicks but is a running back who also can shake a tackle or two to take it the distance. He would be a true Sonic for Johnson's offense, an ideal partner for Kyle Monangai going forward. The Bears aren't going to find Jameson Williams' speed at receiver in this draft and Johnson needs this to build an attack like he had in Detroit. They're going to find speed at running back in the form of one of the best backs in the country.

S Zakee Wheatley, Penn State

No. 89, Round 3

Replace the Penn State safety, Jaquan Brisker, with another one in Wheatley. He has good size at 6-2, 200, and speed, and has the ability to either stay back to battle the taller wide receivers or deliver a hit. As a rookie, he can learn alongside returning free agent Kevin Byard. I'm not sure he would even be here in Round 3 but was in this mock. It's a no-brainer even if the Bears had edge needs. Could have taken Michigan edge Jaishawn Barham here, too, but, he's not big enough to be an ideal Allen scheme fit, especially in Round 3.

T Brian Parker, Duke

No. 100, Round 3

With the pick I cheated the simulator and Jaguars out of (sorry again Duval), it's someone who can battle and maybe win out as the replacement next year for Ozzy Trapilo. Who knows, maybe he takes Trapilo's job? It's just too much to expect short-armed Theo Benedet or Kiran Amegadjie to take the job full time and they're not moving Joe Thuney. It's better to keep Darnell Wright where he is because of his run blocking. That's the key spot for Johnson's running game. Parker is a bit light at 305 and is 6-5+. Parker isn't just a pass blocker, as you might expect from Duke. One strength is run-blocking in zone scheme. Parker can play any position on the line including center.

LB Aiden Fisher, Indiana

No. 129, Round 4

At 6-1, 231, he's not a size replacement for Treamine Edmunds, who will become a cap casualty in my little cyber world. Instead, he'll play the position more like a traditional linebacker. And unlike Ruben Hyppolite II, he's not just fast guy. He actually plays football. This came down to a choice at a need position between Fisher and Texas linebacker Trey Moore, who is close to Edmunds' size at 6-3, 249. But Fisher is far more experienced in pass coverage with 1,200+ coverage reps the last three years and he's also better in actual coverage per PFF.

Edge Max Llewellyn, Iowa

No. 163, Round 5

For some reason Ryan Poles has a penchant for Round 5 edge rushers. Booker was a fifth-round pick, as was Dominique Robinson. Well, here's another one and he might not be the ideal weight but at 6-5 1/4, 255, he only needs to add a few pounds. And he's already a pass rusher. Llewellyn was graded well below where I took him, almost 20 spots, so the simulator had another fit. But this is someone who knows how to rush the passer and would be taken for that quality alone. He's the extra edge to bring in to spell Booker or Montez Sweat, or in my world, Hendrickson.

Maybe he'd even spell Dayo Odeyingbo after he recovers from Achilles surgery and is no longer on the side of a milk carton. Llewellyn had a better pass rush win rate last year than many edges projected to go in the second, third and fourth rounds. His 17.2% win rate was even better than projected first-rounder T.J. Parker, and almost as good as Zion Young (17.4%). A steal in Round 5 and it's someone who needs less training to be productive than Robinson ever did. The simulator recommended George Gumbs from Florida but his pass rush win rate wasn't even half as good as Llewellyn's. The Bears can't afford Max Maxx Crosby. Maybe they create their own here.

DT Deven Eastern, Minnesota

No. 239, Round 7

He opened some eyes at the Senior Bowl with his drive in the middle of the line and if you can do this and are athletic at 6-5, 301 pounds, then you are someone the Bears should consider as a possible interior run stopper and pressure generator in Round 7.

S Jalen Catalon, Missouri

No. 241, Round 7

At 5-11, 205, he'll fit in with a team looking to add young safeties. Well, maybe not so young. He turns 25 before the draft and played four years at Arkansas, one at Texas, one at UNLV and finally last year at Missouri. He's on the John Belushi plan—"seven years of college down the drain”—but in this case not down the drain. At UNLV in 2024 his five interceptions led the conference once he finally got a chance to prove himself after numerous injuries.

Shoulder, hand and other issues have plagued him in college and he had an ACL tear in high school. He made 10 career interceptions, five forced fumbles and 14 breakups in 56 college games.

More Chicago Bears News

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter

X: BearsOnSI

Published | Modified
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.